Chapter 9

Once Remus had fallen asleep, Wendy had collected the books she needed out of Black's library. He had, of course, been reluctant to let her take them.

"What do you think you are doing?" asked Black shortly.

"I can see that. What are you planning to do with my books?" he asked.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It would be so easy to change him into a Flobberworm and come back later to reverse the transfiguration. "Not that it's any of your business, but Severus is working on the Wolfsbane Potion. There is a possibility one of these books has something helpful in it. While Hogwarts has an excellent library, it does not have every book. Rest assured, Severus respects knowledge and nothing will happen to any of your precious books, though I suspect it's been quite some time since you voluntarily read anything," she replied derisively.

She desperately wanted to throw out a snide comment about how he couldn't have stopped her if he wanted to, but she resisted. Instead, she grabbed one last book off the shelf, placed it into the bag she had brought with her and left.

By the time she finished reliving her latest encounter with Black, she was nearly to the castle. It had been a very long time since she had been here. It was between the last class of the afternoon and dinner. There was a very slim chance she might catch a glimpse of Andorra, but that was not the main reason she was there.

She was almost across the main hall, when she heard, "A-hem-hem," coming from her left. The odds had been slim that her visit would go unnoticed, but she was surprised that she had been discovered so quickly.

Umbridge frowned when the visitor didn't react to her cough. "Excuse me? Can I help you?"

Wendy stopped and slipped into full Auror mode. "No thank you. I can find my way."

"Well, you are not a student and you are not on staff. I was not informed of any visitors this evening. Visitors are required to register, for the safety of the students," she said officiously.

Wendy was amazed that someone so short and unimposing could present such an air of self-importance. "Is this a new requirement? I was not informed by the Ministry." As she had expected, the mention of 'Ministry' elicited a reaction from Umbridge.

Umbridge quickly regained her composure. "It's a new Educational Decree this year. Who are you and what are you doing here?" she demanded.

Wendy pulled out her badge. "Auror Westin, here to see your Potions Master." In this case, brief answers were the best.

Umbridge asked suspiciously, though somewhat more respectfully, "And what do you want with our Potions Master? I know for a fact that the Ministry employs Potions Masters that are at the disposal of the Aurors." She was concerned that an Auror might be investigating one of the professors and thus bring a bad light upon the school. Especially Snape, who she thought was more sympathetic to her than the others. Of the staff, he was the only one that seemed to appreciate the necessity of firm discipline. But then again, since Severus was hired by Dumbledore, that might be more fuel for her to further her ambitions.

Wendy had been expecting this. "Severus is an old schoolmate and this is a matter of intellectual curiosity and not Auror business. Now, if you will excuse me, my time is valuable.” She turned and headed towards the dungeons, hoping her answers had been vague enough to convince Umbridge to leave her alone. She also hoped that Severus had done nothing to get on her bad side. Umbridge was even better than Sirius at holding a grudge. When she didn't hear anything else behind her, she assumed she was safe.

Upon arriving in the dungeon, she headed straight towards Severus' office and knocked on the door. When the door opened, she entered.

Severus saw Wendy standing in his doorway and quickly crossed the room to ward the door against eavesdropping. "What are you doing here? Were you seen?" he asked.

She placed the bag on his desk. "I brought you some books you might find useful, and yes, I was seen. I played twenty questions with Umbridge and seem to have passed, at least for now. I don't think she knew what to make of me."

"You told her who you were?" Severus asked incredulously.

"Don't worry. I gave her just enough information that she shouldn't find anything overly suspicious about me coming to see you. I told her we were in school together and that I had something I trusted only you to help me with. That seemed to satisfy her, and any facts she finds will support what I told her."

Severus had started going through the books. "Do you know what these are?" he asked as he dug through the titles.

"I thought you might find them useful in your research on Wolfsbane. A few of them are from Black's collection, but most of them are mine," she replied as she watched him examine the books. When he got to the bottom of the bag, he pulled out a sealed tube. "Be careful with that, it's extremely old and rare. It's from the Egyptians, but written in ancient Greek on papyrus. Wear gloves when you handle it."

"You should copy this," Severus said as he examined the outside of the tube.

"I have, but I thought the original would be more useful to you. I know there are times a copy does not get everything." Many times she had come across a tome that was enchanted so that its deepest secrets were not openly revealed. She hadn't checked the scroll for that sort of enchantment, but it was always a possibility.

He placed it on the desk, separate from the others. "I will return this to you at my earliest opportunity."

"Don't worry about it. I have no need for it." She examined his specimens as he continued to look at the books.

As he paged through the books, he said, "I find it interesting that you would help me with my research on improving the Wolfsbane Potion. I had always thought you believed in the policy of werewolf eradication," he said sarcastically.

She knew he was leading her and had expected this. "Just those who would cause trouble."

"Is there a particular werewolf you are trying to help?" he probed.

"You know my niece is Lycanthropic," she replied evasively.

He replied as though he didn't entirely believe her. "Ah, yes, of course." He set down the book he was flipping through. "You have made some wise selections. I think these will be most useful. Perhaps I can find time to visit and explore you library first hand?" He paused before continuing. "How did Lupin look? I have made some modifications to the Potion."

Before she consciously realized what he had asked, she began answering, "Pale and tired. I can't really compare it to before since this is the first time I've seen him right after transformation. He led me to believe there is still a significant amount of pain." Finally, her brain realized that she had fallen into his trap and told her to stop talking.

Severus let a confident sneer grace his features. "So, you and the werewolf..." While he did not approve of the relationship, he was pleased that he had won this round of verbal sparring. It had always been one of his favorite forms of entertainment.

She cursed herself for falling into his trap. "Oh, shut up. It's bad enough I get it from Black. If the books will help, great, if not, return them to me at your leisure," she replied tersely.

He was disappointed that one who hailed from his House had chosen a Gryffindor. Grudgingly, he had to admit that Lupin was one of the better that House had produced, much better than Potter and Black, not that it was saying much. Given his history with those three, he had a very hard time accepting Lupin as a responsible adult. "I will send owls and keep you appraised of my research. If you would like information on the brewing..." He left his sentence unfinished. He knew this potion was well within her capabilities.

"I'll let you know. Is the ring safe?" she asked in order to change subjects.

"So to speak. If you had any desire to use it in the future, I suggest you take it with you. Umbridge is the sort of person who will continue to make changes, changes that will make it more difficult for you to visit, or for me to leave. Surely you must have somewhere you can keep it safe."

"I'm away from home a lot and I didn't want to keep..."

They both turned to face the door as it opened to reveal Umbridge. "I believe it is proper protocol to knock before entering someone's private office," Severus said snidely. He had not locked the door to reduce any suspicion it would elicit if Umbridge had come by.

With her usual air of superiority, Umbridge replied, "Normally, yes, but I was concerned something unseemly might be happening since you had warded your office." She gave Wendy a suspicious glare that turned to a frown when the Auror gave her a confident grin.

Severus did his best to maintain his calm. "I do not take kindly to invasions of my privacy," he sneered. He thought she would probably take that to mean the ward and not her barging into his office unannounced.

"It isn't proper for professors to have personal visitors. What would the students think?"

The corner of Severus' mouth twitched, as he could smell a new Educational Decree being born. "I daresay the shock would kill them," he replied dryly.

It took all Wendy's training not to laugh at the joke Severus had just made.

Umbridge did not see the humor in his statement. "Yes, well, I think it would be best if Auror Westin were to leave."

Wendy moved closer to Umbridge, taking full advantage of the height difference and the intimidation that being an Auror naturally provided. "I will leave when I have concluded my business." The temptation to just Obliviate Umbridge was almost overwhelming. "It has been quite some time since I have seen my old friend. As for something unseemly happening, I thought Aurors were above reproach. Besides, do you think we are stupid enough to do something behind an unlocked door?" she asked derisively.

Umbridge tried to maintain her sense of presence, but found she had lost her advantage as Severus took up a position on her left side. "Yes, well. You will ensure that you remain here. Professor Snape, you will escort her out of the castle once your business is concluded," she ordered somewhat nervously, fully aware that both of them were more powerful than her magically. Yes, there would definitely need to be a new Decree ensuring the safety of the castle from outside visitors.

He gave a small sneer. "Of course."

After Umbridge left and the room was re-warded, Wendy asked, "That toad is teaching here?" They had already seen a drop in quality of the new recruits, thanks to the utter inconsistency of the Defense Against the Dark Arts curriculum. With Umbridge teaching, it would only get worse.

"I wouldn't exactly call it teaching. If she wasn't so dense, I would suggest that she is working for the Dark Lord trying to undermine Albus, but that would be giving her entirely too much credit. She is accidentally wreaking havoc. Given the fact she has this whole castle under a microscope, I'm not sure how much assistance we will be to the Order. Every time she sees someone exerting independent thought, she writes a new Educational Decree. I suspect she will now write one restricting visitors. As I believe she reads our mail, we will have to be circumspect in our discussion of the Wolfsbane Potion. Neither of us needs to be tied to any of the Gryffindors."

Wendy thought a moment before replying, "Not necessarily. As you know, werewolves need to be registered and my niece's name is on the list. I don't think that Umbridge would connect my interest with Remus, especially since I really have no reason to know him. I know I'm not much help in the research sense, but I can look things up and provide you with information."

"That will be acceptable. Unless you have further business to discuss, it would be best if you departed."

"No, that was about it. I'll let you know about the Potion's effects. Will you be able to get away to deliver it?" She was concerned that with Umbridge's crackdown, Remus wouldn't be able to get his Potion.

He gave her a sly smirk. "I have my ways to come and go undetected, though I must keep my absences brief. I'll get the ring."

She followed him to his quarters and waited in his sitting room while he retrieved the ring from his bedroom. "Thanks for keeping it, though I would much prefer it to be here."

"Are you sure you won't turn it in for destruction?" he asked. He knew how dangerous this ring could be in the wrong hands.

"Not now. There are things about the Department of Mysteries that bother me, and standing guard down there has only accentuated that feeling. I never really liked the Unspeakables; they're even more secretive than Aurors. They have always rubbed me the wrong way, but this is something different." Placing the ring securely in an inside pocket, she turned to leave.

As she opened the door, she thought she caught a glimpse of Umbridge scurrying around the corner. Deciding to take advantage of Umbridge's paranoia, she made great show of adjusting her clothes and smoothing her hair. Even though she had only been in Severus' quarters for a few minutes, she was sure this would set Umbridge's mind into motion. "Thanks again, Severus," she said cheerfully.

He looked at her curiously, not exactly sure what she was doing. "You're quite welcome."

As they climbed out of the dungeon, she leaned close and whispered, "Umbridge was outside your door. I wanted to give her a little show. If I'm going to get myself banned, I'd like to feel I earned it."

"Are you trying to make my life difficult?" he whispered back. The last thing he needed Umbridge suspecting was that he had a relationship with anyone. He was a loner and liked it that way.

She waved away his question. "You live in a constant state of misery. Besides, I'm sure you derive pleasure in annoying her. In that respect, I'm helping you out." She gave him a cheery little grin and said in a normal voice, "I look forward to hearing from you."

As she walked back to the village, she pulled the ring out of her pocket and examined it. It was a heavy gold man's ring. In the place of a crest, was a serpent, not unlike the one on the Slytherin crest. Rumor held that the ring had been Salazar Slytherin's, but that had never been substantiated. Holding it up to the sun, she took one last look at it before putting it back in her pocket. She hated having it back in her possession. It was just too great a temptation.

Remus started at himself in the mirror. Where did she get these clothes? he wondered. He scowled at his reflection. How did I let her talk me into this? "Are you ready yet?" he called out.

"Almost," she replied.

He had hated this idea the first time. He hated it even more now.

She finished at the vanity and turned to face him. "Ready." Looking at him, she was unable to hide her grin.

"I look like a...a..." he couldn't finish the sentence.

She rose and smoothed his collar. "You look exactly like you should."

He looked down at her, and he found his gaze drifting to her bosom. The dress she was wearing really enhanced her cleavage and the slit in the skirt was nearly scandalous. "And you, you can't go out like that," he insisted.

She replied defensively, "And why not? I went out like this the first night?"

"Well, that was different," he replied uncomfortably.

"How so?" She placed her fists on her hips.

He ran his hand through his hair nervously. He hadn't liked this idea one bit from the moment she mentioned this was on the evening's agenda. "For one, you were single..."

"It's not like I actually do anything with any of these guys. I just make them believe I did. Besides, they have no idea who I am." She swayed her hips in an exaggerated manner, rubbing against him. "What's the matter, guv'ner? Afraid there won't be any left for you?"

"It's just too dangerous." He was finding it harder to think of counterarguments the way she was behaving. "One of them could easily overpower you before you could get to your wand."

She gave his bottom a good hard squeeze. "You should know me well enough to know that's not a concern. I've done this more times than I can count and have never been overpowered." She pulled him close for a kiss. "Think of the show you'll get tonight. It should be quite a turn on," she purred. "Come on, time to go."

He grabbed her arm as she tried to walk away and pulled her back to him. "Be careful."

"I will. I will need you to let me do my job. Unless one of them tries to hurt me and I call for help, let me be," she said insistently.

"Wendy," he pleaded.

She stepped away from him. "I'm serious, Remus. That's the way it works. Customers are allowed to feel up the merchandise to a point."

"You aren't merchandise," he protested.

She gave him a sly grin. "I am tonight. Come on, darling. We really do need to get going."

She entered the pub on his arm and gave the room a disapproving glance. "I'm not sure about this place," she said loudly, hoping to attract attention.

"Go mingle, luv," he replied and gave her a slap on the bum. They had discussed how he was supposed to behave and he didn't like it. He went over to the bar and ordered a drink, even though he knew it wouldn't have any effect. He tried to remain detached as he watched her flirt around the room. She was entirely too comfortable with this persona.

He gritted his teeth as he watched one of the patrons grab her and spin her onto his lap. Without realizing it, he was gripping his wand in his pocket. She at first feigned indignation, but then her attitude changed. Presumably, the man was talking money with her. When the man began feeling her breast, Remus almost lost control. This situation was untenable.

She pulled away. Apparently, the man had not had the price she was asking. Remus smirked when the man tried to grab her again and she slapped him quite soundly. This was his cue to take a few steps toward her. The man noticed his movement and released her. Even though she had told him how to behave, he found it all very odd. Never would he have believed there was a code of conduct amongst such unsavory characters.

After nearly an hour, Wendy had made the rounds of the establishment. She returned to Remus' side and pouted petulantly. "John, this place is a real dud. Come on, let's find some place with some action."

A man came up behind Remus and announced, "No action, eh? She's a pretty one." He grabbed her chin and examined her as though examining livestock.

Wendy smoothly slid closer to her potential client, ignoring how he had been appraising her. He was the man they had been hoping to meet; their sources had indicated he led the Death Eater ring in the area. "Well, now, this one might actually have the price, though I'm not sure."

"You think you're worth that much?" he sneered.

This was the part of the role that he had dreaded. Remus smiled smoothly. "I assure you she is well worth the asking price." He tugged at the shoulders of her gown, pulling them down to expose more skin. He watched as she pushed on her breasts, amplifying her cleavage. "As you can see, she is quite voluptuous."

The man pulled her close, simultaneously feeling her breast and her bum. "She's good to the feel," he admitted. "A little old, though?" He was used to taking his pleasures from women in their early twenties.

Wendy played her part admirably. "I have experience those young tarts could never hope to match," she purred seductively and ran her thigh up his leg, the slit in the dress exposing her flesh.

Remus watched as their mark flinched. He then realized he could only see one of her hands. Gently, he reached out, pulled Wendy away and held her possessively. What he really wanted to do was hit that man with a hex that would make James proud, but he resisted. "Well, then, good sir, now that you've tested her, do you think you have the price?"

The man leered lasciviously as he pulled a moneybag out of his pocket. He extracted a galleon and placed it on the bar. He paused, judging Remus' reaction before reaching into the bag and adding a second. When Remus made no move to pick up the money, he asked incredulously, "Surely you don't think she's worth more than that?"

She's worth all the money I have ever had. "I assure you, she is well worth the price." He pulled her hair away from her neck and inhaled her scent deeply. "I have sampled her wiles and I assure you, you will not be disappointed." Maintaining a pleasant demeanor was the most difficult thing he had done. He most definitely did not like the lecherous grin the man was giving Wendy. He almost frowned when she slipped from his grip and began to rub up against the man.

Wendy purred at him, "Come on, guv'ner, one more galleon will buy you a truly memorable time."

Remus bit his lip at way she was flirting shamelessly. He had seen her behave the same way toward him. A part of him began to wonder if the way she behaved toward him was just as much an act. The sound of a third galleon clinking on the bar brought him back to reality. Looking at the two of them, he saw Wendy giving him and imploring glance. Slowly, he picked up and pocketed the galleons. "Enjoy yourself, good sir." He forced a polite smile as he watched the two of them head upstairs.

There was nothing for him to do but fume and wait. Even getting drunk was denied him this evening, thanks to Wendy's potion, but that did not stop him from ordering another drink. He took his drink to an empty table and sat alone with his thoughts. All he could think about was whether or not she was sincere when she was with him. He found that she too easily flirted with other men and made them believe she was interested only in them. He had seen far too much of that this evening. Was Sirius right? Was he just a plaything for her?

He looked up when he heard her giggling. Checking his watch, he saw that she had been gone for more than half an hour. He frowned. It was unlikely that it had taken her that long to probe the man's mind with Legilimency.

Wendy slunk away from the suspected Death Eater and slid a chair up next to Remus. "I think that's all the business we will find here," she said quietly, in case someone was listening.

"Good," he replied tersely and grabbed her by the arm and nearly dragged her out of the establishment.

Wendy thought he was acting rather odd, but didn't want to bring it up in the open. After all, she was supposed to be subservient. Even after they returned to her house, he didn't say anything. "Remus, is something wrong?" she asked.

He spun around to face her. "Something wrong?" he asked incredulously. "You have the nerve to ask me if something's wrong?"

She was completely confused. It wasn't like him to get angry. She tried to place a reassuring hand on his arm, but he shrugged her off. "Remus, what is it?"

"Why don't you read my mind and tell me?" he spat.

"I would never do that to you," she replied softly. She didn't know what had set him off. Her best hope was to get him to calm down and explain himself. "Darling, why don't we sit down and discuss this?" She tried to lead him into the drawing room, but he remained rooted where he was.

He stood silently, his back to her for several long seconds, trying to gain control of his emotions. "Am I just a play thing for you?" he asked quietly, afraid his voice would crack if he spoke louder.

"What? No, of course not." She tried to wrap her arms around him, but was once again rebuked. "Is this about how I acted tonight? Because if it is, that's all it was, an act."

"Is it?" He still couldn't look at her. "I'm not sure I can believe that. I saw how you were behaving this evening, and I couldn't help but notice how similar it was to how you act around me. Sirius told me you were just using me for your entertainment, but I told him he was wrong. Now, I'm beginning to think he was right."

"It's not an act when I'm around you," she replied sincerely. This was trouble she had never expected. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out how to defuse this situation.

"What happened when you were upstairs? You were gone for quite some time, far longer than was necessary for you to read his mind and Obliviate him," he said angrily.

Doing her best to remain calm, she replied, "I was keeping up appearances. He has a certain level of importance in the community. If we had returned to the common room too quickly, it would have drawn the wrong sort of attention. I figured, the less attention we drew the better. Once I had the information I needed, I stunned him. When I revived him, I Obliviated him and gave him a false memory. Then we came downstairs. That's all that happened." She was trying to determine what to say to him. "I didn't cheat on you and I won't cheat on you. You're the only one I want." This time, when she touched him, he didn't pull away. She slipped in front of him and nuzzled against his chest.

He closed his eyes, fighting back the tears, as he wrapped his arms around her. "I can't do that again. I can't stand seeing you like that," he said softly.

"I'm sorry," she replied. "I didn't realize how much that bothered you."

He finally wrapped his arms around her. "How could you not know? You know how much you mean to me." Or perhaps you don't.

She explained, "It's just that we had a job to do. I thought you would realize that's all it was. I thought you understood after I explained it to you the last time. You know that undercover work is my specialty."

"I do, and that's what makes it so hard. How am I to know when you are acting and when you are sincere?" This is what frightened him most, he couldn't tell.

"You just have to trust me." She looked into his eyes. "Believe me when I say that I have never shown you a false persona. I show you who I truly am."

He gazed into her eyes, desperately wanting to believe that she was telling him the truth. There was no doubt her initial gruff treatment of him had been sincere, but he still had a hard time believing her affections were sincere.

She ran her hands across his chest. "When I was flirting with all those other men, I was thinking of you, wishing it was you, hoping the mission would be over quickly so I could get you home and take you to bed," she purred.

It was so easy to fall prey to her charms, and before he realized it, he found himself giving her a passionate kiss. After all, Dumbledore trusted her, why shouldn't he? He got lost in that kiss before he realized she was unbuttoning his jacket. He gently pushed her away. "Wendy, no," he said firmly.

"What can I do to prove to you I'm sincere?" she asked. This evening was not working out at all like she had planned. According to her plan, the two of them should be upstairs having mad, passionate sex.

He sighed. "I don't know." His body told him to believe her. Unfortunately, all he heard in his mind was Sirius' voice telling him how untrustworthy she was.

She didn't want to lose him. "Darling, don't listen to Sirius." Placing her hand on his heart, she implored, "Listen to what your heart says." Rubbing against him, she continued quietly, "I only want to be with you." Standing on her tiptoes she started kissing him.

Remus' body betrayed him and he began to eagerly return her kisses. Slipping his hand through the slit in her skirt, he rubbed her bottom, pulling her close. "Are you sure about that?"

She slipped her hand down his trousers and ran the inside of her thigh up his leg. "Absolutely," she replied between kisses.

He swept her into his arms and carried her to the sofa in the drawing room. He trailed kisses down her neck and nuzzled into her cleavage. Her giggling only encouraged him.

She looked down when she heard a pop. "What are you doing?"

He spit out a button. "Getting you out of that dress," he replied slyly.

"There are easier ways to do that," she replied sarcastically.

He popped off another two buttons to free her breasts from the confines of her dress. When he captured her nipple in his mouth, he could hear her gasp. Did it really matter if Sirius was right?

"Oh, Remus," she moaned. This is what she had been waiting for all evening. She ran her fingers through his hair and pushed his head against her chest. "I want you. I need you," she panted.

He pulled away, lacing his fingers in hers, and noticed that she was wearing a ring. He found this odd, since she never wore much jewelry. Pulling her hand where he could see it, he noticed that while the ring was sized for her finger, it was very masculine in appearance. "Where did you get this ring?" he asked.

She silently cursed herself for forgetting to take the ring off. "Nowhere special," she replied and tried to pull her hand free of his grip.

"Is this the ring from the dining room? The one you were supposed to destroy?"

For a brief moment, she considered lying, but she knew that he could easily get a description of the ring from Black. "Remus, please, let me explain. There's something not right in the Department of Mysteries. I felt it when I was down there. I didn't want to give it to them, afraid it would be misused."

He finally released her and stood up. "How very convenient," he snarled. "Is that how you've been able to seduce me?"

She sighed and sat up. With a quick wave of her hand, the buttons flew back to her dress. "Look, I haven't been seducing you, at least not for anything other than pleasure. And even if I were, the ring is not something that would affect you."

"Oh, really? And what exactly does the ring do? You and Sirius have both been very evasive about it." He crossed his arms and scowled at her.

It had taken her a long time to find out what the ring was. While it was a prized possession displayed prominently in the dining room, no one had ever spoken about what it was. It had taken her even longer to figure out how to break through the protective wards. Thankfully, this was one artifact she had never discussed with the others. Before she had known what it was, she had planned on telling Narcissa and Bella all about it, but once she learned what it was, she knew she was no longer willing to share.

Taking the ring off her finger, she explained, "This ring is a magical focus, much in the same manner as our wands. Any spell you can cast with your wand, you can cast while wearing this ring. As something like this is essentially unheard of, it can make the wearer quite dangerous. Others would let their guard down around an apparently unarmed prisoner."

"By Merlin!" he exclaimed softly as he sank down into the chair.

"That's not all. If used in conjunction with a wand, it will amplify a spell's effects. For example, if you were faced with a group of attackers, you would normally only be able to stun them one at a time. With this ring, you could stun several people at once if they were standing close enough together. I know that use has been tested. I can only assume that the same would hold true for the killing curse."

The color had drained out of Remus' face and he was glad he was sitting down. "And Sirius knows this?"

"I don't know how much he knows. He may only know one part of what I have described. Albus knows. You have may have noticed the silver ring he wears; it is similar to this one. With this ring a mediocre wizard would become a powerful wizard, a powerful wizard..." There was no need to finish that sentence.

"Does Albus know you haven't destroyed it?" he asked weakly.

"I don't know. I gave it to Severus for safekeeping. The wards at Hogwarts are substantial and I felt it was quite safe there. Unfortunately, with Umbridge running amok, it would be too dangerous for me to return if it were needed. I've had it with me the last couple of weeks. While my house is well protected, I won't risk someone getting through the wards. I can't very well take it back to Grimmauld Place with Kreacher there."

"Why didn't you give it to Albus?"

She shook her head. "He can't have it in his possession. It's something similar to brother wands interacting with each other. While it would be safe in his study, he would not be able to deliver it if it were needed. Believe me, I would like nothing more than to destroy it, but I can't risk it falling into the Death Eater's hands. I just have a feeling that the Unspeakables wouldn't destroy it and would want to study it. As unlikely as it is, it might be stolen. Even more disturbing is that remote possibility they would unravel the mystery of the ring and figure out how to make more."

"I hadn't thought about that," he replied soberly. "What do you intend to do with the ring?"

"I generally keep it in my pocket. I only had it on tonight as a precaution. I know you were concerned about something happening. I need you to keep this secret. No one can know I have the ring. Especially Sirius. He would be livid if he knew and he would once again start his anti-Slytherin campaign. I truly wish I didn't have it. It's a very great temptation to use it. It fills you with a sense of power and immortality when you wear it. Either Albus' ring is different, or he has more willpower than most."

"Is it safe for you to have it?" Her last statement concerned him.

"I don't know. All I know is that I have nowhere else to keep it for now. I have been researching protective wards, hoping to find one obscure and difficult enough that I will feel safe leaving it unattended. So far, I have found nothing. This was the first time I wore it and you saw that I forgot it was there."

He sat next to her and took her in his arms. "Give it to me. Don't bear that burden."

She wrapped her arms around him. "I can't give you this burden. I can bear it for now. Just watch me and make sure I do what is right."

"I will."

Remus returned from a day of running errands for Sirius and the Order. He was looking forward to getting home and relaxing, preferably with Wendy, if she was home from work. He had never realized what long hours Aurors worked. He heard her laugh coming from the library. As he moved closer, he heard her addressing someone.

"Listen to this, 'side effects may include extreme nausea...' on an impotence potion, no less. That must go over really well. That would definitely ruin the moment. 'Oh, darling, that's it, a little to the left. Oh, uh-oh!'" She feigned vomiting and started chuckling again. "Ah, here we go, this could be useful," she said in a more moderate tone of voice.

Remus snuck closer to the door, trying to see who she was with since he had not heard a reply. As he peered around the corner, he saw Severus leaning over Wendy's shoulder to read the book. He felt a very strong surge of jealousy when he saw Severus place his arm over her other shoulder to point at the text.

"That might work quite nicely," Severus said quietly.

"Severus, how nice to see you again. Will you be joining us for dinner?" Remus asked in a tone that probably sounded overly polite.

Severus stood slowly, knowing that he had done nothing wrong. "No. I cannot remain away from Hogwarts that long," he replied curtly.

Remus had always tried to be polite with Severus, trying to overcome the grudge that Severus held. "Pity. Have you found anything illuminating?"

"Wendy offered to let me borrow any of her books and I was taking advantage of her offer. She has many volumes that are too dangerous for even the Restricted Section," he replied emotionlessly.

Wendy rose and gathered several volumes in a stack. "I believe this will be a good start. Feel free to come back anytime."

Severus could tell that Remus was bothered by his presence. "Of course. Your assistance has been invaluable. Thank you for placing your resources at my disposal." He gave Lupin a sneer as he slid out the door.

Remus watched Severus leave the room and kept his eye on the door until he heard the front door closing behind the Potions Master. He then spun his head around to face Wendy. "What was that about?" he asked angrily.

She sat on the edge of the table, crossed her arms and grinned at him. "Are you jealous?" He had been somewhat more possessive since last week's information gathering.

"He was being incredibly friendly. And what was that with the impotence potion? Why were you researching something like that with him?" he asked suspiciously.

She grinned even more. "You are. Remus, it was nothing. My eye just happened to catch that side effect when I was skimming the text and I thought it was funny."

"How long was he here?"

She wiped the grin from her face and crossed the room to embrace him and was surprised when he pulled away. "He was waiting for me when I got home. We were pouring through the books for about an hour before you came home. Honestly, nothing happened. Besides, Severus isn't my type." She leaned up against him, hoping to dissipate some of his jealousy.

He finally placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's just the way he was leaning over you, looking at that book. It seemed very...intimate."

"Well, I assure you, there is nothing going on between us. Though, I may have given Umbridge that impression a few weeks back. It was all for fun," she replied off-handedly.

He stiffened. "You gave Umbridge the impression that you and Severus?" He couldn't even finish that thought.

She shrugged and continued to snuggle against him. "It seemed the thing to do at the time. She's quite paranoid, you know?"

He pulled away from her. "How could you?" He was aghast.

"Remus, calm down." She could tell this situation was going from bad to worse. It didn't help that it was nearly full moon. He seemed to get more emotional that time of the month. "Let's look at this objectively. She didn't like me visiting Hogwarts, probably because she doesn't want anyone to know what's going on there, and hinted quite strongly she was going to ban visitors not cleared through her. I figured if I was going to be banned, I might as well really deserve it. Besides, it would annoy her to no end. And let's not forget that right now my biggest asset to the Order is that I have no ties to any of you Gryffindors or the original members of the Order, other than Moody, who was purely a coworker. In the off chance she mentions me to anyone, I will be associated with a fellow Slytherin. You have already agreed that we need to keep our relationship secret from those outside the Order."

He knew she was right, but after her performance the other night, he couldn't help feeling a little insecure. "You're sure that's it?" he asked suspiciously.

She pushed him into the chair and sat on his lap. "Of course it is. I don't want to see you hurt. I hadn't realized you would be jealous of what Severus was doing. I didn't see anything wrong with it. We aren't particularly close friends, but there is a sort of bond between us, as we are both Slytherins. We grew up in a similar environment and, to an extent, think the same way. I guess it's probably more brother and sister than anything else." She hoped that last part would put him at ease.

"Now there's a scary thought. He's not the illegitimate son of your father, is he?" he teased as he tickled her.

She tried to squirm away, but he somehow maintained a firm grip while continuing to tickle her. "No. Now will you stop?" She found it hard to sound angry while having a fit of the giggles. Finally, she slid out of his grip and landed on the floor.

He pinned her to the floor. "I suppose," he replied before kissing her.

"So, I'm forgiven?" she asked breathlessly.

"I suppose," he replied as he began to push her skirt up. He was leaning in to kiss her again.

"Mistress? Dinner is ready," interrupted Cappa, who, upon seeing what her mistress was doing, squealed. "Cappa is sorry for interrupting," the elf said repentantly.

Wendy gave him a smile that said 'I'm sorry.' "Thank you, Cappa. We'll be there shortly." When he didn't immediately move, she asked, "Are you going to get up?"

"I rather like it here," he replied playfully.

She struggled against his grip. "We're having a soufflé tonight so we need to go eat. We can come back to this later."

"And I was so looking forward to make-up sex," he replied sadly as he released her and helped her to her feet.

"Well, then, I'll have to arrange for another misunderstanding," she said playfully.