Part One

The day began rather normally for all those attending Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry and Ron were sitting down to breakfast when a dishevelled lady entered the Great Hall. She glanced nervously around her and a child ducked around the edge of her skirts.

She began to work around the edge of the hall, edging her way toward the head table. Ron tapped Harry on the shoulder, "What do you suppose she is here for?" Harry responded quickly, a bit under his breath, "I haven't any idea, have you ever seen her here before?" Ron shook his head. Hermione stood up, "I, for one, am going to go find out.” Before either Harry or Ron could even attempt to stop a determined Hermione, she began to approach the lady.

The woman was continuously watching all the faces in the room. Hermione walked up to her. The lady paused her anxious quest toward the front of the Great Hall. Hermione addressed her, "Ma'am, can I help you?" "Which and where is Headmaster Dumbledore? It is imperative that I see him as soon as possible." Hermione responded, "Up there, in the middle of the head table, what are you here for?" The lady shook her head, "My dear girl, that is something that you may learn only in time."

The lady continued toward the front of the Great Hall, the little girl trailing behind her. She mounted the stairs to the platform upon which the Head Table was elevated. Harry watched the pair intently as Hermione walked up behind him. "Who is she, Hermione? Did she say?" Hermione shook her head. The three friends continued to stare at the lady as she addressed the Headmaster. Their conversation was brief, and ended with the both of them leaving the Great Hall through a side door.

Later that day, Ron and Harry were working very quietly in Potions class when there came a timid knock on the door. Professor Snape called sharply from his desk, "Enter." The door crept open and Albus Dumbledore entered first, followed by the young woman they had seen at breakfast, and the little girl who had accompanied her. The Headmaster spoke, "Severus? May I intrude for a moment? There is someone here I would like you to meet." Snape paused, "If you must." Dumbledore smiled, "I knew you would be enthusiastic, Severus! This is Miss Annelise Marrion Schetzek- a newcomer to these parts, and here is her daughter, Miss Angelique Marie LeFay. They will be staying with us for the remainder of the year." Snape nodded his head curtly. Anne stepped up to him and extended her hand, "How do you do, Sir? 'Tis a pleasure to have the opportunity to make your acquaintance," she turned to the girl, "Angel dear, come up and shake hands with the good Professor." Snape was a bit taken aback by the warm attitude the young lady took with her introduction. Angelique was timid at first, but quickly gathered her courage, "Hello Professor, Sir. How are you on this fine November day?" Professor Snape gave a sharp retort, "Well," and strode back to the front of the classroom. The newcomer and her escort left the room, but her sunny disposition's effects on the students remained for the rest of the class, despite all of Snape's efforts to make them miserable.

The rest of the day flew by for Harry as he, Ron and Hermione thought of all the various reasons why the mysterious lady had suddenly appeared at the school. Nearly every class they went to, she seemed to appear in, meeting all the professors and leaving a trail of happiness wherever she went. At the end of classes, Ron made a suggestion, "Why don't we go and try to find this lady and ask her a few things? It could be quite interesting!" Harry nodded enthusiastically, "Sure, we could find out who she is and why she's here!" Hermione held back, "I think we should just let her tell us when she is ready. Usually mysterious strangers are here for a reason- like hiding from something..." The boys looked at Hermione as though she was a slight bit insane. "Aren't you the least bit curious, Hermione? Come on, lets go Harry," Ron broke the silence. Harry and Ron headed from their last classroom and began to walk down the hall to satisfy their curiosity. Hermione called after them, "Hey, wait for me!" and dashed off after them.

Harry, Hermione and Ron searched the castle high and low, but there searched proved fruitless. The lady that had been ever-present in their classes was no where to be found. By that time, the school was ready to assemble for dinner in the Great Hall. The three friends walked into the Hall and took their seats at the Gryffindor table. To their surprise, the young woman they had been tracking all day was sitting to the left of the Headmaster!

Dumbledore rose slowly and called for the attention of the students. His voice rang over Hermione's chatter and snapped Ron and Harry to the highest state of attention they had been at all day. Hermione turned to face the Head Table just as the Headmaster began speaking, "My friends and students, as you have probably noticed, there has been a new face at our school today. My staff has already had the chance to meet her; now it is your turn. Everyone, allow me to introduce to you to Miss Annelise Marrion Schetzek, who will be teaching a Muggle Arts and Recreation class after regular school hours. We also have with us her daughter, Angelique Marie LeFay, who I believe is sitting at the Gryffindor table this evening. Please greet them with a warm welcome as you encounter them in the corridors. Anyone wishing to register for Miss Schetzek's class should leave a message for her posted on the message board posted outside the door of the first empty classroom when entering the first corridor of Floor four," he turned to Anne, "Welcome," and then back to the students, "And let the feast begin!"

After dinner, Harry and Ron decided that they were going to try and talk to Miss Schetzek before she disappeared again. Hermione followed after them, just as curious as they were to find out why Miss Schetzek had appeared so suddenly at the school. The three friends worked there way up to the Head Table and nearly ran into Hagrid, "Whoa there 'arry, where d'yeh think yer goin'?" Harry paused for a second before dashing by, "We want to talk to Miss Schetzek!" Ron nodded in affirmation as Hermione and he attempted to catch up to a very purposeful Harry. They reached the Head Table as Anne was lifting her child up to carry her on her hip. They heard her speak, her soft, low voice filled with loving tones, "Angel dear, you are getting to old for this. You know, you are eight years old, I don't need to carry you anymore." For the first time, Harry noticed that she spoke with a softened American accent. Angelique responded to her mother with a smile, "Need to and want to mother are quite different things." Anne smiled at her daughter. Hermione turned to Harry, "We should go up there now- she isn't busy." Ron nodded at her suggestion. The three friends began there ascent up the stairs at the edge of the platform to finally speak with the newcomer, Miss Annelise Marrion Schetzek.

Harry led the way up the stairs, his head bent down watching the steps carefully as he ascended. He turned toward where Anne was standing, and nearly ran into Professor Snape, "Oh- sorry sir," Harry stammered, looking up at the less than pleased figure before him. Hermione and Ron came up beside Harry. "What are you three doing up here? You know this platform is off limits to anyone but the instructors! Now, what do you want?" Professor Snape glared down on them. Hermione spoke up, "We were hoping we would be able to speak with Miss Schetzek, sir." Snape snapped back at her, "Well she's busy," and brushed past them as he went to the stairs to descent from the platform.

Anne laughed lightly, her voice rising in its notes to a more musical level. Her tones were still fairly low, but graceful as she spoke to them. She glanced in the direction Snape was heading. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had turned there back on her, and had begun to leave when she addressed them, "Oh don't worry dears, if this is 'off limits', then I'll come down there to you. If you are this eager to talk to me, then I can't just go and ignore you, can I?" Anne looked at Angelique, "You have to go down now- Mama's arms are getting tired," she let Angelique hop down to the floor. Anne walked over to the three friends, "I always have the time to meet new people.  Is Professor Snape always so sour, or did I just catch him on a bad day?" Harry, Hermione, and Ron all looked at one another and Ron answered for them all, "That was actually pleasant for him." Anne laughed. Angelique spoke up, "I'd hate to have encountered him for the first time on a bad day- he frightened me at first!" Harry noticed that the child spoke with a distinct Irish accent. He began the questions, "Why does she have such an Irish accent, when you sound like and American? Not that that is a bad thing, mind you..." Anne let out a small laugh, "She is my adopted child- I knew someone would ask, either because of the accents, or because our names are nothing alike. What else would you like to know?" Hermione piped up, "Why are you here?" Anne responded a bit hesitantly, "I can tell you part of that now, and part of that is a secret between Albus and me. The part I can tell you is that I have wanted to fine tune my skills for some time- I never went to any wizard school- the same for Angel. The other part must remain a mystery." Ron chimed in, "Well, all three of us will be in your class- when does it start?" Harry and Hermione gave him a look of surprise, and then nodded their consent. "As soon as I gather myself together and get a lesson plan laid out. Give me a week." Hermione stepped up to Anne, "Well it was nice to talk to you; we have to get back to the dorms now." Anne shook Hermione's hand, "Pleasure to meet you," she shook Ron and Harry's hands, "And I look forward for seeing you all in class! Be sure to sign the door!" The three friends turned to walk to their dorms and as they did heard Anne remark to her daughter, "Lovely people here dear, eh?" Angel responded, "Yes, I'm sure glad you're working here now Mums, last place was so unfriendly."

That night in the dorms the air was abuzz with students speculating where Anne hailed from. Hermione, Harry, and Ron kept to themselves and were careful not to let any of their precious information out. The next day they rose early to sign the sheet on the empty classroom's door. To their surprise there was already a small crowd gathered to place names on the roster. Hermione slipped up to the front of the crowd to sign her name, along with Harry and Ron's on the sheet. She came back to the boys with a smile on her face, "Well, there are quite a few names on that sheet already, hope she is good at controlling attention- Draco and his followers are already signed up."

Meanwhile in a moderately sized chamber in the dungeon, Anne and Angel were attempting to unpack there precious few belongings. Anne hung her hammock on the back wall with care, and Angel began to make her bed on a small enclosed observation platform above the door. Anne set her sea chest below the hammock and her cedar clothes chest in the corner to the left of her bed concealed behind a red folding screen. There was a knock on the door to disturb the quiet of their unpacking. Anne opened the door a bit timidly, "Whose there? Oh, Professor Snape, sorry, do come in." Anne opened the door wider to allow his entrance. "Thank you, but I was just checking to see why light was coming out from under the door. My classroom is the room one closer to the stairs from here. I trust there will be no untimely disturbances, Miss Schetzek?" Anne looked at Snape with a glint of amusement in her eye, "Do you honestly think that a refugee and her little Irish daughter can really cause that much trouble? And please, call me Anne." Snape 'hmpf'ed under his breath, "Good day then?" "Wonderful wishes back to you," responded Anne. He left back to his classroom in a sullen silence. Anne couldn't help but be intrigued by this quiet man- she knew he was hiding something, but what?

A week passed without event, and Harry was even more excited than before to join the company of the mysterious Miss Schetzek. The students were released from there last hour classes and a stampede of 29 students crowded to the once empty classroom. The door of the room was enthusiastically opened by their new instructor who shouted above the din, "Take your seats, but be sure to be sitting by people who won't distract you- focus on your work is very important!" The clamour of the students died down a few minute later when Miss Schetzek took her place at the head of the classroom. The light from the windows on the side of the classroom opposite the door filled the room and glistened off Anne's tightly waved auburn hair, giving a halo effect around her head. A hush fell over the students. Draco raised his hand, "Yes, Mr. ... I'm sorry, I don't believe I know your name, I should probably take roll, shouldn't I?" Anne ran through roll exceptionally quickly, pronouncing all names clearly and correctly. She spoke, "So, Mr. Malfoy?" he nodded, "What were you wanting to say earlier? I'm sorry I interrupted your thoughts." Draco spoke, "Well, I just wanted you to know that since my father is a very prominent figure in the wizard world, I would be careful about what you teach in this class." Crabbe and Goyle chuckled as he grinned slyly. Anne responded coolly, "Do you warn all your teachers in this manner? For your information, intimidation does not work on me- I have been threatened enough in my day that I can take care of myself and never worry about what others think." Draco looked miffed. Hermione beamed, "Miss Schetzek- have you ever encountered You-Know-Who?" Anne laughed, "Please, call me Anne- there is no need for formality here. Yes dear, I have encountered the Dark Lord, and to tell you the truth I am not too fond of remembering the encounter. On a different note, shall we begin our class?" Many of the students nodded. "All right then, our first unit is going to be on the art of poetry. You can probably guess your first assignment- write a poem about yourself of about 10 lines or greater in length. It is due tomorrow. You have all this class hour to work on it. No late exceptions will be made. Have fun, be creative, and let yourself shine!" Anne smiled and sat down behind her mahogany desk. A new chapter in the 25 year old girl's life had begun...

The next day the students filed into Anne's classroom with a heavy silence. Anne noticed the change in her students from the day before as soon as they entered the bright classroom. She asked a general question as her students, "Why all the long faces, dears?" Harry and Draco raised there hands simultaneously. "Yes Harry, let us here what you have to say first, then we will hear Draco's version of the story." Harry spoke up clearly, "In Professor Snape's class today we were supposed to be mixing a specific potion when Neville's experiment exploded." Draco piped up, "It flew all over Professor Snape and it looked like he would explode next! Then he told Neville to leave the class." Harry flew a wicked glare at Draco. Anne attempted to diffuse the situation, "Well, that would explain your glum looks- did he assign extra work tonight? I would assume that it was about an extra 30 pages?" The entire classroom nodded. She continued, "Well, I trust you all did your poems last night?" Half the class nodded, "For those of you who did, please pass them up." The rustle of papers sounded like the wind through the Dark Forest on a gentle Spring day. Anne collected all the poems in a neat little pile. "If any of you would like to share your poem, please feel free to volunteer!" No one raised their hands. Anne decided to progress on with the class. "Ok, well, let's continue on with our poetry unit-your next assignment will be to write a set of lyrics for a song of any appropriate topic. I hope that this assignment will be turned in with greater frequency than the last. Now, you have one day to complete this assignment." Anne sat down at her desk to begin grading Monday's assignments. The first one she read was Draco Malfoy's.

Anne smiled sadly and penned another comment, "I hope that I can become a member to your family, Harry- love from friends is a powerful healer." Hermione's poem followed right behind Harry's.

Then Anne continued reading through the rest of the poems. As the class progressed, the remainder of Monday's assignments trickled in. Anne counted them down by a half of a grade, and continued to grade the papers. By the end of the class period all of the assignments were in, and the students were humming tunes to their songs to themselves. Anne smiled softly as she finished her work and looked up on her busy class. An hour had quickly passed and Anne rose to speak to her students, "Everyone, the hour allotted for our class has expired. I will have to dismiss you now, and I hope that your record for punctual handing-in of your work will improve tomorrow. Thank you!  Have a wonderful evening!" The students began to gather their belongings and file out of the classroom. Anne was filled with a hope of a bright future at Hogwarts as all of her students left her class and went out to encounter tomorrow.

At dinner that night Anne was interested to find that the only seat remaining was beside the sullen potions master. She approached with her best graces and tapped him gently on the shoulder, "Sir, is anyone sitting here?" He quickly uttered, "No," and Anne proceeded to ask, "May I?" At this Snape uttered a short "Yes". She smiled softly and set herself gracefully in the chair. She waved to Angel among the mass of students and the day ended on a positive note.

Wednesday dawned with a vibrant set of colours that Anne gazed out on with awe. She had returned to her classroom to retrieve her papers from the night before, and the sky was visible from the huge windows of the room. She descended the stairs an hour later and passed by Professor Snape's classroom. As she did, she paused instinctively and glanced into the room. Snape was levitating a pile of books onto the top shelf of one of his high bookshelves. As he did, the pile began to topple. On a whim, he raised both arms to stop the pile from cascading down on top of him. The sleeves of his robes fell down as did the sleeves of his shirt below, revealing the Dark Mark on his arm. Anne gasped to herself and quickly passed by the door. Upon hearing her little gasp, he glanced at the door, then at his arm. He quickly shook his sleeve back over the Dark Mark and continued his work.

Anne walked back over to her room and found Angel sitting on the table doing potions work. Anne rubbed her left shoulder. It was all coming clear to her now. She'd heard of wizards returning from the Dark Arts hidden and covered by a shell hiding the past from both others and themselves. Anne began to understand the indecipherable Severus Snape.

That afternoon Anne's class was relatively uneventful. The homework flowed in and even a few students volunteered to sing their lyrics in front of the class. Anne was still contemplating what she had seen. Perhaps she and Snape were more similar than she had imagined.....

That evening at dinner, Anne once again sat at her place next to Professor Snape. She glanced over to the Gryffindor Table to see how her daughter was adjusting to her life at Hogwarts.

At the Gryffindor Table, Harry, Ron, and Hermione noticed Anne's young daughter sitting by herself among the first years. Harry walked over to her, "Angelique?" she looked up at him shyly, "Do you want to come and sit with us? We would be happy to have you." Angel beamed, "Oh, thank you- I think I'll take you up on that offer. And call me Angel- as Mums always says, 'No need for formality'!" Angel joined the three inseparable friends and began to chat with them as though she had known them from the beginning of time. Hermione thought to herself, "This little girl is better company than most of Gryffindor House, younger or older."

Anne saw Angel joining Harry, Hermione, and Ron and remarked under her breath to herself, "Well, looks like we both are going to be all right here." Snape turned to her, "Did you say something?" Anne laughed lightly, "To myself, I just said that Angel and I seem to be all right here. She's happy, I'm happy- life is finally turning in a good direction!" Snape 'hmpf'ed' his acknowledgement and turned back to his meal. Anne smiled at his reaction and proceeded to remember all that she had seen earlier that day.

Thursday morning came all too soon. Anne dragged Angel out of bed and attempted to motivate her to get ready for classed. Anne got dressed in her long green velvet dress trimmed in gold braid around the neck, the hem, and the peaked sleeves. She took Angel up to breakfast and helped her to find her seat with Harry and his two friends. Anne herself was uninterested in breakfast and headed to her classroom to prepare for the day's work.

Anne walked quickly to her classroom. The morning sun shone brightly through the tall windows, creating a light and happy feeling in the room. She picked up her papers off her desk and noticed a small scrap of parchment lying on top of her notes. "Miss Schetzek- did you wish to ask me something the other day? ~Professor Snape" Anne smiled. Later she would go and ask him about his opinion on specific students, just to have something to ask him. She contemplated asking him outright about the Dark Mark, however she decided against that.

Anne prepared all day for a slightly more hectic assignment that afternoon. She arranged the desks in a circle around the room. That afternoon the students filed enthusiastically into the room and attempted to find their seats. Laughingly they shuffled around and finally settled into a random arrangement, with Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting in front of the windows, and Draco Malfoy and his 'gang' sitting across the room. Anne took her place at the centre of the circle, "Ladies and Gentlemen, today we are doing something a little different today. Instead of working on a regular assignment, we will be setting up situations and poetically describing them and then describing them through prose. Who would like to go first? I need two people. Harry and Draco, you both raised your hands, why don't you both go first?" Anne smiled slyly. Draco and Harry both begrudgingly entered the centre of the room. Anne spoke, "Well, this should be interesting...," she drew a slip of paper from the copper cauldron on her desk, "'Two wizards are duelling- enact the duel and freeze on my mark.' Well, you two start acting." Harry and Draco both grabbed their wands from their desks. Draco began with the first spark, Harry countered it. Anne uneasily watched the two as they shot colourful sparks at one another. Then panic rose in her breast as Draco began to cast the leg-locking curse.

Harry dodged Draco's casting fairly easily, and countered with the full-body locking curse. Draco dodged and continued striking, Harry counterattacking, and Anne shouted, "Freeze!" Harry froze, but Draco nearly continued the attack. Hermione and Ron tensed and grabbed their wands. Anne shouted above the ensuing din, "Everyone, sit down!" Harry headed to his seat, as did Draco. Anne's eyes flashed with anger, "Mr. Malfoy! What on this Earth, in Heaven, or in Hell, possessed you to even contemplate turning my classroom into a ring in which you express personal grudges?!!!! You will be receiving a notice for detention and 50 points from Slytherin. Mr. Potter, I understand you were defending yourself, however I will be taking 10 points from Gryffindor as well for some of the counterattacks you performed. Class will be dismissed for today. Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter, see me after class." The students began to file out of the classroom. Anne saw Draco attempting to slip out of the room, "Mr. Malfoy, if you leave this classroom even for one second you will be in detention for the rest of your short lived life!" Draco paused and returned to in front of the desk behind which Anne had retired. Anne glared at Draco, "You two displayed a primitive behaviour today, I expect better of 15 year olds. From the first years, perhaps I would expect this type of behaviour, but you, no. To keep your grade in this class from falling by 30 percentage points, you will be writing a page and a half essay on the positive qualities of one another. It is due tomorrow. Be glad I am not as strict as Professor Snape, or you would end up expelled. Mr. Malfoy, you will be notified as of the time you will serve your detention and where. You are dismissed."

The students all began to file into the Great Hall for dinner at the end of the day. Anne found Professor Snape at the entrance of the Great Hall watching the students file to their respective tables. She approached him quietly, "Professor Snape?" he tilted his head toward Anne, his eyes leading the path. His face showed mild annoyance at her interruption of his silence. She continued, "I need your advice- Draco Malfoy attacked Harry Potter today during an activity in my class today. What detention do you recommend?" Snape sighed, "If you like, I will consult Minerva and Albus and I will assign a proper detention for Mr. Malfoy." Anne breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you, I am quite relieved that you are willing to help." He nodded curtly, and Anne smiled as she left to talk to her daughter and to then take her seat at the Head Table.

The dawn broke that Friday as Anne was filing papers in her classroom. She glanced out the window out of instinct at the light in the sky and noticed that the crisp December wind was cutting through the courtyard carrying large, downy snowflakes on its icy tendrils. Anne smiled. As she returned to her filing, she heard a light rapping on the door, "Yes? Enter if you will!" Her cheerful disposition welcomed Angel into the classroom. Angel came to Anne and climbed up into her lap. They shared a hug and Angel left the room to encounter her daily adventures in the classes at Hogwarts.

Anne continued her work and another tapping floated to her ears from the heavy door, "Enter!" Anne looked up and saw Dumbledore enter her classroom. She rose to greet him, "How can I be of service to you, Headmaster?" Anne asked. He smiled and began to tell her of his plans for her classroom observation for the upcoming week.

Anne watched her students file into the classroom that afternoon. They sat down anxiously as she whistled to begin the class, "I have an announcement to make. Next week we will be graced by the presence of Professor Snape in this class. He will be observing my teaching upon the orders of Dumbledore. I hope that this will not make any of you uncomfortable, and I trust that you will behave in the same manner that you would if it were a normal week. I will be dismissing you in a few minutes to go and fetch your coats, scarves, and other winter clothing. I noticed it has snowed two feet today and is still snowing. This means we play. I will be taking attendance upon our arrival in the Entry Hall, and expect you all to be there in 15 minutes. Class temporarily dismissed."  The students excitedly leapt from their seats and vaulted to the door.  Anne smiled.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione raced as fast as was physically possible back to Gryffindor House. A teacher who was endorsing a snow day as a class was definitely an unusual occurrence and they wanted to make the most of their Golden Opportunity.

The class met in the Entry Hall with little event. Anne took roll and proceeded to instruct her class on the art of a snowball fight, "All right, here are a few rules: 1) no fist fights or other physical confrontations, this is supposed to be fun; 2) please do not put ice, rocks, or anything but snow in the snowballs, this is not supposed to injure anyone; 3) have fun, be merciful, and if I see any of you intentionally injuring any of your classmates, either physically or emotionally, I will see to it that you are punished to the full degree of whatever the worst I can think of happens to comprise of. Now, let the battle begin!” The students stampeded outside with a roaring cheer unsurpassed by anything Anne had ever heard. Angel ran up to her, "Mum, can I join in?" Anne smiled and nodded as she pitched a snowball curve ball style at Draco Malfoy.

Anne felt a snowball smack the back of her neck. She whirled around and heard Angel laughing at her. Anne gave Angel a mischievous grin. She pummelled Angel with a pair of snowballs and nearly knocked Angel off her feet. Angel retaliated and the battle between the two newcomers to Hogwarts began.

Meanwhile back near the school, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were hunting one another with cunning and stealth. Harry nailed Ron from behind, causing him to spin around and smack Harry with a snowball the size of a softball. The front door of the school opened. Ron couldn't see who opened it, but Hermione was on the other side of the doorway, so whoever it was, Ron thought, would just have to be careful. His snowball sailed through the air in a perfect arc, smacking the unsuspecting Professor Snape in the side of his face. Ron shirked back in fear as Snape turned slowly toward him as he wiped the snow off his face. Anne, having witnessed the event, began to laugh. Snape shot her a glance that could have frozen over Hell itself. She spoke through her laughter, "Professor Snape, it won't hurt you, unless you're made of sugar, but I highly doubt that you're sugary sweet and will dissolve!"  She continued laughing as he turned quickly to the door and entered into the school.  Anne looked at Ron, "That probably wasn't the best thing to say to the man who is observing my class next week, eh?" Ron shook his head and nailed Hermione with a snowball having the beautiful arc that his original one had.

Dinner that night was fairly silent as she sat next to Snape, hoping that he would forget her comment by Monday.

Anne awoke the next morning to Angel's voice, "Mum, wake up, you can't sleep any longer- it's nearly noon!"  Anne raised her eyelids to the light of the torches lighting her room.  Anne sat up and stretched her arms.  She grabbed her clothes and headed up to the showers to freshen up for her busy planning day.  Everything would have to be perfect for her observation next week.

After her shower, Anne walked to her classroom to collect her attendance book and her notebooks of class plans.  She returned to her chamber to find Angel lying on her stomach on the table.  She was pouring over her first year Potions work.  Anne had encouraged Angel to attend classes, despite the fact she would be required to retake them upon her official induction to Hogwarts.  It was good practice, and Angel also was able to meet other students.  Angel called her mother over to the table, "Mums, I am completely puzzled over this chart, what on Earth do all these symbols mean?  I cannot recall if we ever covered it, and the work is due on Monday.  Can you help?"  Anne shook her head, "Sorry hon, I don't get it either.  Ask Professor Snape- maybe he would be willing to help you."  Angel gave her mother a look that asked if she was insane, and that doubted if Snape would even consider helping her, both at the same time.  Anne shrugged her shoulders, "Asking never killed anyone Angel, and it's the only way to know if he'll help."  Anne ran a brush through her hair.  "Come on now dear, worry about this after lunch."

As the pair approached the Great Hall for lunch, Harry, Ron, and Hermione met up with Angel.  They walked off together to the Gryffindor table while Anne made her way to the Head Table.  Upon taking her seat, she turned to an already seated Professor Snape, "Professor, may I have a word with you?" he nodded curtly, "For starters, I'm sorry about my comment yesterday, during the snowball fight?  Forgive me?  I feel really badly about it," Snape looked at her and nodded his acceptance, "Secondly, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind helping Angel with her Potions work- she is quite frustrated and is a bit shy about asking you herself."  Snape responded after a moment's contemplation, "I would be willing to help this afternoon from about 4:00 until just prior to Dinner, in my office."  Anne thanked Snape with genuine sincerity and waved to Angel who had been trying to catch her eye.

After lunch, Anne was waylaid by Minerva McGonagall.  She was slightly concerned because of Snape's report of the attack.  Anne was quick to assure her that Snape had accepted her apology and all was set to rights.

Angel meet Anne back at their quarters and Anne was quick to report her conversation with Snape.  Angel was slightly reluctant, however Anne was sure to assure her that it was a good measure of friendship to be extended, and she was to accept help graciously.

4:00 came and Angel stepped next door to the dungeon in which Snape taught.  She knocked on his office door and was invited to enter quickly.  Anne smiled softly and left the doorway to the classroom to pursue her planning for next week's classes.

Dinner time came, and Anne made her way to the Great Hall.  She was surprised that on her arrival neither Snape nor Angel were in their respective seats.  She took the opportunity to ask Dumbledore if she could have a moment of his time.  The history of Professor Snape lay heavy on her mind and she was determined to discover where he had been previous to his employment at Hogwarts.  She returned to her seat to see Professor Snape and Angel entering the Hall.  Angel skipped over to the Gryffindor Table, anxious to share her new knowledge with anyone who would listen.

After the meal, Anne approached the Headmaster and they stepped aside to talk.  She placed her question and awaited his reply.  Dumbledore smiled softly, "My dear Anne, that is something that only Severus is licensed to tell.  When and if he ever wished to disclose that information to you is completely up to him.  Do not press the matter, it would serve best to bide your time."  Anne thanked him for his advice and went to attempt to find Angel among the mass of students flowing out of the Great Hall.

Angel called out to Anne as she exited the Great Hall, "Mum, guess what?"  "Heaven knows, Angel, but wait and tell me until you're closer; the entire school doesn't need to hear."  Angel approached her mother.  She bounced up and down as she stood before Anne, "Mums, I just helped a whole load of first years with their homework, I am so happy, and you were right, Professor Snape was a huge lot of help.  Thanks Mums!"  Anne laughed, "Well dear, I guess you learned a few things today," Angel tipped her head inquisitively, "Number one, you learned what all those symbols meant, and now you can share your knowledge with everyone, including your old mum; number two, asking has never killed anyone to date, and it can sometimes prove beneficial."  Angel laughed, "Let's get ready for bed, I'm exhausted."  Anne nodded her head in agreement and the pair made their way to their dungeon apartment.

Sunday morning dawned earlier than Anne would have liked, and she groaned as her eyes adjusted to the light of the chamber.  Angel had lit the torches and was busy brushing out her wet hair in a corner.  Anne dragged herself out of her hammock and walked over to her clothing chest.  She pulled out her simple black dress and went up to shower and change.  Sunday promised to be a very relaxing day.

After Anne returned to her chamber, Angel began to inquire as to whether or not they were attending church that morning.  Anne sighed deeply, "Angel dear, I'm afraid that Hogwarts has no Sunday Services.  Would you like it if we held our own?"  Angel smiled and nodded.  Prior to finding Hogwarts, Anne and Angel had found refuge within the walls of many churches.  Angel was quite fond of spending Sunday mornings in the Services and, like Anne, had found them quite comforting after running all week.  Anne and Angel sat down.  Anne spoke, "Well dear, what all do you have in the way of praises this blesséd morn?"  Angel replied that she was glad to have found friends, a home, a school, and a much calmer existence.  Anne smiled.  She gave thanks for many of the same things, and in addition that they were no longer running and Angel was happy where they had ended up.  The pair ran through prayer requests, and then prayed together.  Anne asked for guidance and for continued protection from the evil from which they were escaping.  Then Angel went to Anne's old sea chest and pulled out a songbook.  Anne's voice penetrated the cool air of the lower levels of Hogwarts as a warm breeze cuts through the night in the Spring.  Angel joined her.

Lord prepare me
To be a sanctuary
Pure and Holy
Tried and True
With Thanksgiving
I'll be a living
Sanctuary
For You

Professor Snape heard the harmonizing voices drift through the walls of his classroom as he organized his lesson plans for the coming week.  Listening to the pair sing with a joy and hope in their voices seemed odd to him- no one running from anything ever was happy, as far as he had seen.  These two were definitely different.  The songs continued.

Be thou my vision
Oh Lord of my heart
Be all else but naught to me
Save that thou art
Be thou my best thought
By day or by night
Waking or sleeping
Thy presence my might

Angel turned the pages in the book.  "Here Mum, let's sing this one!"  Anne smiled, "All right Angel, that is an excellent choice.  Perfect..."

Joyful, joyful we adore thee
God of Glory, Lord of Love
Hearts unfold like flow'rs around thee
Op'ning to the Sun above
Melt the clouds of Sin and Sadness
Drive the dark of Doubt away
Giver of Immortal Gladness
Fill us with the light of day!

All Thy works with joy surround Thee
Earth and Heav'n reflect Thy rays
Stars and Angels sing around Thee
Centre of unbroken Praise
Field and Forest
Vale and Mountain
Flow'ry Meadow
Flashing Sea
Chanting Bird and Flowing Fountain
Call us to rejoice in Thee

Thou art giving and forgiving
Ever blessing
Ever Blest
Wellspring of the joy of living
Ocean depth of Happy rest
Thou our Father
Christ our Brother
All who live in love are thine
Teach us how to love each other
Lift us to the Joy divine

Mortals join the mighty chorus
Which the morning stars began
Love divine is reigning o'er us
Brother Love joins man to man
Ever singing
March we onward
Victors in the midst of Strife
Joyful Music leads us sunward
In the triumph song of Life!

As they concluded the last verse, Snape heard a joy and power in their voices increase.  The line containing 'victors in the midst of Strife' seemed especially potent, and if Snape had been one to hold those kinds of things as relevant, he may have held onto the notion that the little family felt that Hogwarts was the end of a long and hard journey.  Snape, however, being who he was, let the notion drop soon after his mind had conceived it.

Angel and Anne continued their Service with a favourite passage and a discussion of what it meant.  Both of them had been clinging to the hope that in Christ all things can be made anew and that a past filled with regrets could be erased and forgiven.  Angel loved to read the Resurrection story to her mother, reminding her that, "If Jesus can forgive his own killers, then He's going to do the same for you!"  Anne smiled and hugged Angel, "Well dear, why don't we finish with one last song?"  Angel nodded enthusiastically, "You pick, Mums!"  Anne opened the songbook and began to sing.

I heard an old old story
How a Saviour came from Glory
How he gave his life
On Calvary
To save a wretch like me
I heard about His groaning
Of his precious Blood's atoning
Then I repented of my Sin and won the Victory!

Oh Victory in Jesus
My saviour forever
He sought me
And bought me
With his redeeming Blood
He loved me ere I knew him
And all my love is due him
He plunged me
To victory
Beneath the cleansing flood

I heard about His healing
Of His cleansing pow'r revealing
How he made the lame
To walk again
And caused the blind to see
And then I cried 'Dear Jesus
Come and heal my broken Spirit'
And somehow Jesus came and bro't to me the Victory!

Oh Victory in Jesus
My saviour forever
He sought me
And bought me
With his redeeming Blood
He loved me ere I knew him
And all my love is due him
He plunged me
To victory
Beneath the cleansing flood

I heard about a mansion
He has built for me in Glory
And I heard about the streets of Gold
Beyond the Crystal Sea
About the Angels singing
And the old redemption story
And some sweet day I'll sing up there the song of Victory!

Oh Victory in Jesus
My saviour forever
He sought me
And bought me
With his redeeming Blood
He loved me ere I knew him
And all my love is due him
He plunged me
To victory
Beneath the cleansing flood

Oh Victory in Jesus
My saviour forever
He sought me
And bought me
With his redeeming Blood
He loved me ere I knew him
And all my love is due him
He plunged me
To victory
Beneath the cleansing flood

Snape paused as their singing grew stronger on their second time through the chorus.  The voices blended perfectly and seemed to be the sweetest thing he had heard in quite a long while.  He paused his work to listen as there voices trailed off on the last note, leaving the air ringing with song.  Snape rose from his desk and approached the door to his chamber.

Anne and Angel closed their Service with saying the Our Father.  As they said Amen, there came a knock at their door.  Anne stood from her seat at the table, "Enter, the door is unlocked."  She turned to Angel, "Angel dear, finish up your homework from Minerva, you got everything else done, if I am not mistaken?"  Angel nodded.  Anne turned her attention to her guest, "Professor Snape, what a pleasant surprise!  Can I help you?"  His eyes skirted the small, sparsely furnished room.  He cleared his throat.  "Professor?" Anne addressed him, "Is something wrong?"  He shook his head, "No, that music...was that coming from here?"  She smiled, "Yes, Angel and I were singing, were we disturbing you?"  He responded shortly, "No, as long as it only happens once in a while."  Anne laughed, "Only on Sunday mornings."

At lunch that day, Anne sat with Angel at the Gryffindor Table.  She was glad to hear Angel chatting excitedly to Hermione about their singing earlier in the morning.  Hermione gasped when Angel came to the part in her story where, "with a sharp rapping on the door, Professor Snape entered!"  Angel continued the tale, and Hermione was much relieved that Snape refrained from skinning either one of them.  She seemed as surprised as her little storyteller when she heard of Snape's reaction to their songs!  Anne finished her soup and walked over to them, "Angel, I'm going to speak to the Headmaster, I'll be right back."

Ron and Harry engaged in a game of Wizard's chess after finishing their meal.  Angel was captivated by the moving pieces and insisted that she get a chance to play the winner of Harry and Ron's game.  The boys looked sceptically at one another.  Angel noticed their glances and retorted, "I can beat Mum at Muggle chess, so I should do fairly well in Wizard's chess.  I like strategy games, they make my mind stronger."  Anne walked up behind Harry and whispered to him, "No mercy on Angel, she's sharp for and eight year old."

The rest of the day was spent playing in the snow with Angel and waging full scale snow war on Harry, Ron, and Hermione.  Angel had become slightly cocky after nearly winning to Ron in Wizard's chess, and Ron decided that pummelling her with snow was a friendly way to extend the competition.  Angel agreed to that after she had been smacked in the back with a snowball the size of a small cat.  She responded, of course, with a snowball pitched as a split finger fastball.  Ron never had a chance, waging snow war against a little Irish girl with an attitude and competitive spirit that only the Celts have.

Soaked and exhausted, the lively troupe retired from their game at sundown and readied themselves for dinner.  Anne and Angel walked in together, smiling and greeting everyone living or dead that they encountered.  Angel beamed her brightest smile at Draco Malfoy as they passed the Slytherin Table.  He sneered at her, "Well look here, what do we have?  The little almost Wizard's chess champion, so you think you are better than those of us who have been here for five years, hey?"  Anne turned and watched the ensuing argument.  She had learned over her three years with Angel that the girl preferred to fight her own battles, and usually won them too.  Angel glared through him.  Draco continued his attack, "With that hair, one might think you were a Weasley, I bet you're the youngest, and they just couldn't afford to keep you..." he tried to touch Angel's hair, so she smacked his arm.  He glared at her, "On second thought, maybe you're just a common Mudblood."  Angel's pretty countenance burned with anger, her accent strengthening as she let her guard down and her defenceful defiance filter through her voice "If you ever call me Mudblood again, you will learn to regret the day you were born.  On my mother's side I am descended not only from Don Dorcha, the wizard of the evil darkness, but also from Lady Morrighan herself!  On my father's side I am a proud descendent of the sorceress Morgan LeFay, and also of the Celtic warrior Finn MacCumhail!  Never insult my blood, brought together by Queen Mab, the sorceress who cleared the path for Mordred, who caused Le Morte de Arthur.  To figure out how they are interwoven, ask me later, when the blood which you have insulted stops boiling."  Angel turned on her heels and returned to her mother.  Her tirade had attracted the attention of many other students who burst into cheers.  Angel had stood up to Draco Malfoy, an act that would not be forgotten.

Anne took her seat at the Head Table beside Professor Snape, the motherly pride in her swelling.  He turned to her, "Why are you so happy?" he asked, his dry tone asking what right she had to such joy.  Anne responded with her head held high, "My girl Angel just defended every ounce of her pure blood self against Draco Malfoy and his attempt to bring her down.  As she once told me, 'No one back home ever dared insult a LeFay.'  She has revealed why."  Snape hmpf'ed at her reasoning and she shook her head.  Gazing off to the Gryffindor Table she saw students as old as seventh years applauding and congratulating the bold temper of little Angelique.

After the Great Hall cleared out, Anne remained there with Angel.  She enchanted the air to play soft music and the two began to practice ballet.  They gracefully leapt and turned across the floor with such ease that anyone who saw them would have believed them to have been fairies.  Coming back from the kitchen was Hermione.  She stopped at hearing the music floating from the Great Hall and curiously glanced into the large room.  She watched as Anne took the time to realign Angel's positioning on an arabesque.  Anne called to her, "Hermione!  Come on in, you can join us if you wish."  Hermione stepped into the Hall, "I'd love to join you, but I have never danced a step of ballet in my life."  Anne smiled, "Then let me teach you."

Hermione entered Gryffindor House late that night, under Anne's escort.  Anne explained to the house Prefect what they had been up to, and he let Hermione off to bed without any chastisement.

Anne woke eagerly at 6:00 Monday morning, and to her surprise, Angel had not yet awakened.  She was excited to have an observer in her class this week, even if it was the sullen Professor Snape.  She climbed into the little loft Angel slept in that was suspended six feet in the air just to the left of the entryway when facing into the room.  She shook Angel by the shoulders and Angel turned over to face the wall.   "C'mon Ang', this is my big day, wake up and help me get ready!"  Angel groaned and sat up, "Fine, but you have to wear what I decide, deal?"  Anne laughed, "As long as it's decent."  Angel looked at Anne with a mischievous, but still half asleep eye, "Dang."  Anne jumped down from the loft and called to Angel, "If you come down we'll shake on it!"  Angel crawled to the edge of the loft and clamoured down the rope ladder.  She looked her mother in the eye, her red hair flying everywhere, "Deal."  Anne walked over to her clothing chest, "Remember, decent, I'm being observed today."  Angel dug into the chest, "So you want to look good so your critique will be spectacular. Got it."  Anne laughed, slightly surprised at Angel's suggestion, "Angelique!  Perhaps you forget who I am being critiqued by.  No I am not wearing the little red dress, or the green one with the twenty buttons and the strap."  Angel pulled out the two dresses Anne referred to and put them aside.  Then she pulled out a streamline midnight blue velvet dress with spaghetti straps, and a silver vine and leaf pattern running up one side.  "Here Mum, wear this with your long butterfly sleeved robes- the ones that float around you and are open in the front- that will look lovely.  Maybe put your hair up too!"  Anne smiled, "The dress, yes, this hair, keep talking and you might convince me to do something with it."

Anne skipped lunch and went to the kitchen after the students and staff had returned to class.  She had latched the front of her robes closed with an antique silver scarab broach to prevent anyone from seeing her dress before her class assembled that afternoon.  Upon entering the kitchen she noticed all the house elves sitting down to their own lunches.  One of them got up, "How may Dobby help you?"  Anne laughed lightly, "Sit down, I can get my own lunch- you finish yours before worrying about me."  A house elf wearing a little blouse and a little skirt walked up to her, "Winky is done with her lunch; Winky will help!”  Anne gave in, "All right, can you help me make a tuna sandwich and a strawberry smoothie?"  Winky nodded enthusiastically, "Winky will be glad to help you make these things!"  Anne and Winky worked together and once Anne's lunch was done, she leaned up against the counter to eat with the house elves.  She talked with them for the greater part of an hour, suggesting various recipes for them to try.  They seemed most intrigued with the thought of making a pizza, so Anne copied the recipe for them out of her memory and gave it to her captivated audience.  Winky called after her as her left, "When Anne's Fat Tuesday comes, Anne will have to teach Winky and Winky's friends how to make Anne's paçzki's!"

As Anne made her way to her classroom, she ran into Harry, who was on an errand for his divinations teacher.  He stopped to talk to her, "Hey, Anne!  Be wary of divinations, that Professor will make up a past for you if she doesn't know one offhand- it's kind of weird."  Anne laughed, and assured Harry that nothing his divinations teacher made up could compare to the past that she already had.

Anne finally made it to her classroom and she began to make sure everything was set up just right for her first day of observation.  She was determined to get a favourable review, even if it was going to be like squeezing blood out of a stone.  As she arranged the papers on her desk into piles of things to hand back and things to hand out, Anne realized that she had left her planbook on her table in her chamber.  Anne made her way back to her room as quickly and quietly as possible, careful not to arouse any attention as she passed classrooms full of students.  She passed the Potions lab and heard Snape bellowing at someone who had apparently blown up their cauldron.  It would defiantly be an interesting class, if nothing else.

Anne sat on the edge of her desk awaiting the arrival of the tick of the clock on the hour.  She was more than ready for her class to start, and the wait began to eat at her nerves.  There came a knock at the door that nearly sent Anne through the roof.  As she attempted to lower her heart rate back down to an acceptable number she called out to her guest, "Enter dear, whoever you be!"  The door opened and Professor Snape entered the room.  He nodded to her, she to him, and took a seat at a large desk in the back left corner of the classroom.  The clock ticked over to the hour and Anne opened the door with her hand-magic to let her students flow in.

After she let her students settle down and chat for a brief moment, Anne stood up and whistled for their attention, "Well, now that you are all captivated by my whistle, which, by the way, has been known to fracture eardrums, we should get down to work- we have a whole lot of things to do today!  So, for starters, here are your papers from last week."  Anne asked Hermione to aid her in passing them back, and then continued to speak, "Today we are continuing our poetry unit with Limericks!  These fun little poems can be on any topic you choose, as long as I could read it to Angel and they follow the standard format.  I am passing out a sheet here that has both the criteria for this assignment, and the criteria for the next assignment.  An example of a limerick is also on the sheet.  You will be given about twenty minutes to work on limericks, and then I will talk to you about the poem of address.

The twenty minutes seemed to fly by without incident.  Anne was enthralled at how well her observation was going.  Hopefully the day would continue on in an error free manner and Anne prayed for a good review.  As she rose to begin instructing her class on the next poem, she heard a scuffle from the centre of the classroom.  Crabbe and Goyle were, as far as Anne could tell, stealing Neville Longbottom's work off his desk.  Neville was attempting to resolve the problem quietly, but all his efforts were in vain.  Anne walked down the aisle to see what exactly was occurring.  Goyle and Crabbe were turned around to Draco Malfoy, who took the limericks and laughed, "You call this poetry, Longbottom?  My father knows people who write better than this in the Ministry!  Who are you trying to impress?"  At this point Anne stood in front of Goyle and Crabbe's desks.  She caught Malfoy's eye and spoke in a voice filled with quiet power, "Here, give those to me."  By this time, Neville was turning a bright shade of red.  She perused through the limericks, impressed by Neville's choice of words, and his light style.  She handed the works back to him with a smile, "Are these the final copies?"  Neville shook his head, "No- please, I don't mean to be a problem..."  Anne's smile filled with warmth beyond her usual kind countenance, "Neville, these are wonderful- don't over-revise them."  Neville glanced up at her in disbelief and wonder.  Anne walked back to the front of the room and turned to the class.  "Well, next up is your poem of address.  It will be due on Thursday, and may be to anyone, on any single topic.  The rest of the guidelines, as well as an example are on the handout I gave you earlier.

As Anne returned to her desk, she pondered what stunt Malfoy would attempt to pull next.  She thought that having Snape in the room would reduce the probability of these types of occurrences, but apparently she was mistaken.  The students worked quietly as the clock ticked over the time.  Anne breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the clock.  There were ten short minutes left of class.  Anne felt a calm sweep over her. Nothing bad could happen in ten minutes, could it?

Harry heard the skritching of quills as the other students wrote furiously before the class ended.  Harry had begun drafting three poems to different people, and all three sat on his desktop, all competing for the honour of being chosen as Harry's poem.  One of them addressed his parents, one of them addressed his friends, and the last one addressed Voldemort.  Since Harry was indecisive, he decided to write all three poems to it's ending, and then to see which one Anne thought he should turn in.

There came a knock on the door that made Anne jump.  She called to whoever her guest was, "Enter at your own risk!"  She laughed to herself.  Two figures entered, both dressed in black robes.  Anne recognized the man from her past life:  they were Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy.

Lucius spoke, "Miss Schetzek, may we speak to you for a moment, please?"  He was not unkind in his tone, and Anne swore that she saw recognition in his eyes.  She nodded.  The pair approached her desk and began questioning her about the goals of her class- were they honourable, did they set out a line dividing the Muggle world from the Wizardry world, had the plans been approved by the Headmaster, and so forth.  The Malfoys were known for their strong anti-Muggle sentiments, and Anne was sure that this was the reason they were questioning her so.  Lucius then began to ask Anne about Angel and her lofty bloodlines.  Anne confirmed Angel's history for the Malfoys, who seemed convinced that the class and its teacher were harmless.  They began to leave, Anne feeling relieved that the questioning was not unfriendly.  Draco's voice rose out of the body of students, "What, that's it?"  The Malfoy's paused as there son spoke.  Narcissa turned toward him, "What else were you expecting?"  He glared at Anne, "Well, why the sudden arrival?  Where did she come from?  Why is she here?  I bet all this teacher stuff is just a cover up.  Why else would she come here in the middle of the year?  I bet she's running from something..." Draco paused and turned toward Anne, "Or someone.....  I bet you are, aren't you?"  The question hung in the air like a dense fog enshrouding the classroom.  Anne was uneasy behind her desk- the colours drained from her already fair skin.  She turned her eyes toward Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy.  Narcissa regarded her with a concerned look.  Kindly she spoke, "Miss, are you running?"  Anne nodded her head and sighed, "Yes Ma'am, I did come here for shelter- it is hard to raise a child when one is running and living on the streets."  Draco spoke under his breath to Crabbe and Goyle, "Wonder who from....Goyle, Crabbe- are you thinking what I'm thinking?"  Crabbe and Goyle stared at Draco as though he had just asked them what the meaning of life was.  He gave them an exasperated glare and sighed, "You two just don't get it.  Who do you think she'd be running from?"

Lucius Malfoy stepped up beside Anne's desk.  He quietly spoke to her while looking her in the eyes, "From whom?"

Anne lowered her chin, "I would prefer not to say- it is a personal matter and I would like to keep it that way."  She raised her head once again, her eyes slightly saddened.  Despite the woeful look her eyes held, a soft smile still graced her lips.  She sighed deeply, as if she were trying to regain her centre of calm.  Draco's voice cut the silence in the room.  Lucius' head snapped to look at his son.  "I bet I can tell you who she is running from."  All eyes turned to Draco, he smirked and continued on, "Well, the only reason I see that she would be running was if her life was at stake.  Why though is she hesitant to tell us a name?  If it was someone who we would have never heard of, there would be no problem, right?"  Draco's friends nodded and murmured their agreement, "So logically it would be someone we have all heard of........I think she's running from You-Know-Who.......I think our Miss Schetzek is a former Death Eater."

A shocked silence hung in the air for a few agonizing seconds.  Narcissa Malfoy bent a concerned eye toward Anne, "Is it true?  Is that why you came here?"  Anne paused for a moment and sighed deeply.  She stood up from her desk and turned to the Malfoys, her left side facing the students.  She carefully unclasped her scarab broach holding her robes closed. The free cloth fluttered down to its natural position.  Anne gracefully let her robes fall from her shoulders to reveal her truth to the world.

Hermione sat stone still in her seat as Anne let her robes drift off her shoulders, "It can't be true, this is all a misunderstanding- there is nothing there..."  Hermione attempted to convince herself that her thoughts were the truth; in her stomach she felt a strange uneasiness.

Ron stared at the scene before him, shock echoing in his eyes.  He was not thinking anything; his mind was a blank slate.  His gut churned with the accusation that their beloved Miss Schetzek could have had a past so dark that only the Dark Lord could have tainted it so.

Harry felt an intense anger boiling in his veins.  The accusations were not true, could not be true, and had never been true.  He felt like hitting Draco and watching his face contort in pain at the strike.  Harry refused to believe that the sweet, motherly woman teaching his class could have ever had any connection to the murdering villain that had so ruthlessly slain his parents.

Anne's shoulders were bared to everyone intently studying her.  There on her left arm was a mark so hideous that many of the students averted their eyes upon its revelation.  The Dark Mark stood out in stark contrast to Anne's fair skin.  Draco laughed triumphantly.  The Malfoys turned and left the room quickly and Anne addressed her class, struggling to control the emotions seeping through her quivering voice, "I'm sorry that today culminated to this- you are dismissed for today, class will be meeting tomorrow, despite this unfortunate turn of events. We will not let that which we cannot change alter our current course of action.  Thank you."  Anne drifted over to her desk and slowly sank into her chair, the inquisition of the class taking its toll on her already frazzled disposition.  The students began to murmur among themselves as they left the classroom, some of them glancing warily over their shoulders at Anne as they passed.  The door softly fell shut after the last student filed out of the room.  Anne sighed deeply and, with her arms lying crossed on the desk, let a small tear roll from the corner of her eye.  She laid her chin on her hands as more delicate tears gently fell down her face like a soft rain.  She stared at the air ahead of her, not seeing Professor Snape slowly rise to his feet at the back of the classroom.  He drifted to the front of the room towards Anne's desk, his footsteps barely audible in the silent classroom.  She felt his presence by the side of the desk.  He hesitated before heading to the door.

Snape thought to himself as he stood beside Anne's desk, "Should I offer some sort of consolation?  If so, what?"  He slowly raised his hand and softly laid it on her shoulder.  For a brief moment he let it rest there before letting it drift back down to his side and leaving the room.  Tomorrow was another day, perhaps the storm would have calmed by then.

Angel approached the Great Hall that evening with apprehension.  She had been hearing rumours that the Malfoys had spoken to her mother and in the course of the discussion her mother's past had somehow been revealed.  Angel realized she was already late for dinner as Harry and Ron ran by her.  "Angel, come on- we need to be in there before Dumbledore starts talking!" Ron said as he passed.  Angel snapped out of her thoughts and rejoined reality as she followed the boys into the Great Hall.

From the Head Table Snape could see three students scrambling to find their seats before the meal.  With greater investigation he observed that it was Harry, Ron, and Anne's daughter.  He pondered her name for a moment.  Whatever was it?  He shook his head, clearing it of the thought.

Meanwhile Anne rose from her desk in her classroom and left the room.  Her papers were still spread across her desk, and they would be there tomorrow when her mind was clearer.  She slowly walked down to her chamber, changed into her night-dress, and laid down in her hammock to fall asleep.  Hopefully her dreams would be kind and let her forget the incidents of the day since past.

Tuesday morning came faster than Anne would have liked.  She woke up later than usual, noticing that Angel had already gone to her first class of the day.  She hoped in her deepest of hearts that Angel would not catch the repercussions of her past and its revelation.  She dragged herself out of bed and went to her clothes chest.  She pulled out her black velvet dress and slipped into it.  She brushed out her hair until its waves glistened in the torch light of the chamber.  Having missed breakfast, Anne decided to pay a visit to the kitchen.  She quickly walked to the kitchen, hoping not to run into anyone as she went.  She slipped through the door and into the kitchens.  The smell of fresh baked bread filled the room, its homely feel calming Anne's troubled spirit.  Winky ran over to Anne, "Winky has heard of Anne's unfortunate class yesterday.  Can Winky help Anne?"  Anne smiled.  The kindness of Winky's offer was reassuring to her as she seated herself next to the counter.  Dobby brought Anne a slice of warm bread, "Here, Dobby has always felt better when Dobby has new bread."  Anne's smile deepened.  A small crowd of house elves watched her eat.  They seemed to be waiting for something.  Anne finished the slice, "Wü nderbar, absolutely wonderful......Thank you.  I am glad you're not afraid to help."  A short house elf with at little tuft of bright red hair sticking out on top of his head stepped forward, "Bob is never afraid to help, Bob knows that once Bob was free from a bad master, house elves thought Bob was bad too, but Bob is not bad, Bob is good!"  Anne's smile grew, "Well, I'm glad you all are so kind- I worry though that if the others at Hogwarts cannot see me so forgivingly that I may have to leave.  I really don't want to run again, but I don't want Angel to have to stay here if we are not loved........decisions, decisions...."  The house elves began to mutter between themselves.  Winky stepped forward, "Anne cannot leave!  If Anne has to stop teaching, Anne can come and help Winky, Dobby, Bob, and the other house elves in the kitchen!"  Anne thanked them considerably.  She then excused herself from their company, reassuring them that she would let them know what was happening as the days passed.  Anne left the kitchens with a renewed and determined hope, making her way to her classroom to set up.  She would not let anything stop her; Angel was not going to have to leave Hogwarts.

Anne opened the door to her classroom and stepped inside.  Her desk was scattered with papers left there from the day before.  She opened a cabinet under her desk and pulled out her antique crank start phonograph.  She set it on top of a coffee table set beside her desk.  Anne pulled out a box of cylinders to play on the machine.  She placed one of them on the spindle and cranked the phonograph to start it.  The silver notes of She Moved Through the Fair filled the room as Anne sorted through the clutter on her desk, preparing herself for the study of the Romantic era of poetry to take place in her classroom later that day.

Five minutes before the start of Anne's class, Severus Snape entered the room.  Anne gave a little jump, "Oh, Professor, sorry, I was in my own little world......"  He walked to his place at the back of the room as Loch Lomond drifted from the phonograph.  Five minutes seemed to be a small eternity until she let the students into the room.  She let the students chatter for a minute or so as they settled into their desks.  Anne began the class with no mention of the incidents of the previous day, "Welcome, today we will be beginning a study of the Romance poets, but first I need your Limericks.  Please remember that your Poems of Address are due on this upcoming Thursday."  She placed the stack of papers on her desk and introduced the new topic of study, "Today we will begin studying the Romance Era; can anyone tell me what the Romance Era is?" Hermione raised her hand, "Yes Hermione?"  "The Romance Period existed from the mid nineteenth century to the end of that same century.  The writers were concerned with the mechanization of Europe and wrote about the world around them with truth and grace.  It is one of the most influential literary periods and it saw the birth of the Novel."  Anne laughed lightly, "Hermione, you just saved me from having to explain anything about the era.  I hope you all were listening, because that information is important in understanding the Romantic poetry.  This term 'Romantic' has nothing to do with love, it is a different definition.  Keep that in mind also.  This section of the class will not operate like your standard poetry class, we will not analyse the poem for its structure; rather we will be looking at the poems for their deeper meaning and references.  Class discussion will be held, and all views will be discussed.  There is no wrong answer when finding the meaning of a work, as long as it is supported by the poem itself.  I do not want to hear anyone say that the poem 'Mary had a Little Lamb' is about death, or something completely unfounded, but please do not be afraid to mention an alternative interpretation.  Our first work is called Lullaby by William Blake.  I will read it aloud."  Anne carefully picked up a three ring binder from of her desk.  She gently ran her fingers over the cover, a wistful smile tracing over her face.  She opened it up to one of the last pages and began to read with deep emotion,

Lullaby
by William Blake
O for a voice like thunder and a tongue
To drown the throat of war! - When the senses
Are shaken and the soul is driven to madness,
Who can stand?  When the souls of the oppressed
Fight in the troubled air that rages, who can stand?
When the whirlwind of fury comes from the
Throne of God, when the frowns of His countenance
Drive the nations together, who can stand?
When sin claps his broad wings over the battle,
And sails rejoicing in the flood of Death;
When souls are torn to everlasting fire,
And fiends of Hell rejoice upon the slain,
O who can stand?  O who hath caused this?
O who can answer at the throne of God?
The Kings and the Nobles of the Land have done it!
Hear it not, Heaven, thy Ministers have done it!

Anne stopped reading and closed the book, letting a deep silence hang over the classroom.  She waited a moment, then asked, "So, does anyone have any idea what the poet was trying to tell us?"  No one answered for a spell, and then Susan Bones raised her hand.  Anne nodded to her and Susan began to speak, "Well, the title of the poem suggests it takes place before the world sleeps, and sleep is often figurative for death- it makes sense that the poem is said to a dying world, considering the historical context."  Anne nodded and then pointed to Lee Jordan's raised hand, "Yeah, I think that the speaker wants the world to realize that troubles of the time were because of false preachers, not the government."  Anne spoke, "Is that a literal meaning of false preachers, or figurative?"  Lee thought a moment, "Probably both, the real church leaders and everybody else telling.....HEY!  It could be talking about the false statements that mechanization would solve all the world's problems, and that the cities were where you should be!"  Anne smiled, "That is a very good probability, Lee.  I never quite considered that one before.  Holli, were you going to say something?"  The strawberry blonde in the last row shook her head, "Lee already mentioned it."  Soon, other students began to offer their opinions on the poem.  Hannah Abbott offered to sing a version of it with Elenore Branstone if someone was willing to take the bass line and speak the poem over their background vocals.  No one wanted to help, so Anne suggested that she find someone and they perform it later.  The girls happily agreed to her suggestion.  The class hour flew by and soon Anne found herself dismissing her students and closing up her classroom for the night.

Anne entered her chamber to find Angel pouring over a pile of Potions notes that covered a great amount of the table.  She sat down in front of a clear spot on the table and began to read the Limericks handed in that day.  Angel left for dinner in the Great Hall and Anne continued to grade papers through dinner and long after Angel came home to bed.

Wednesday Anne awoke at Noon.  She showered and dressed before making a path to the kitchen for her lunch.  The house elves were busy trying to read her recipe for pizza dough.  They were a bit confused by her handwriting, so she convinced them to wait until Friday to decipher it and she would help them to make pizza for Dinner.

Anne continued her study of Romantic poetry in her class that day.  She saw Snape seated in his corner.  He was watching the students file into the room.  After the students had settled into their seats she drew an old volume out of a drawer in her desk.  She introduced the book to them, "This text is from the year 1910 and is titled Twelve Centuries of English Poetry and Prose.  I have found many hours of solace between the pages of this agéd text.  Our next piece is entitled Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley.  Listen closely to this poem and try to identify irony, satire, or sarcasm in this text."

Ozymandias
by Percy Bysshe Shelley
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said:  'Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert.  Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, a sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculpture well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear--
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains.  Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.'

Anne looked up from the old text and leaned back on her desk.  "Well, can anyone tell me which of sarcasm, irony, or satire are in this poem?"  Mandy Brocklehurst raised her hand.  "Yes Mandy?"  "Well, the fact that all that remains of his great kingdom is irony.  Also the face of the king sneers, not like a 'king of kings' would look."  Anne nodded and asked another question, "Are there any double meanings to the words in this poem?"  Dean Thomas raised his hand and spoke as Anne addressed him, "Well, the word 'mocked'- it can either mean imitated or scorned.  I think that is a double meaning, as is the word 'beside'- it can mean nothing else remains, or nothing next to it remains."  Anne encouraged Dean, "Very well said.  Now I would like you all to group into sets of three and think of images that this poem evokes- not only visual images, but other types of sensory details are acceptable also."  The students grouped up and for the last half hour of class Anne rotated around the classroom talking to each group about the various images they found in Ozymandias.

Anne went home that night to her dungeon apartment to finish grading Limericks.  She saw Angel leave for dinner when she was about five papers short of finishing.  She finished her papers and went to bed at the same time Angel did.  She was becoming quite tired due to the long week.  The emotional strain of Monday was definitely taking its toll on her physically.

Anne slept through Thursday morning and after showering and putting on her green velvet dress she headed to the kitchens for lunch.  She was greeted by a troupe of excited house elves.  They told Anne to promise she would meet them after lunch on Friday to help them to make pizza.  Anne made herself Hummus and Pita for lunch, fascinating the house elves that were helping her.  She talked to the house elves about soups and how to make them just so until seven minutes before her class was scheduled to begin.  Anne realized the time, told the house elves she'd meet them tomorrow, and then ran to her classroom.  Standing outside her door, and slightly annoyed, was Professor Snape.  Anne apologized profusely for her tardiness.  Snape seemed less than amused.  She opened the door wide and let her students in early.  After they were seated Anne began the class.

She smiled broadly to her students, "How many of you remembered that your Poems of Address were due today?"  The students grumbled and gasped as only five hands were raised.  Anne laughed, "Figured so.  Today is a workday so you five can relax and do your other homework if you want to.  Please check in your poems as they are completed."  Anne picked up the pile of Limericks and passed them back as her students began to work.  Once she was done she sat down and began to grade the five Poems of Address that lay on her desk.  The rest of the poems trickled in as the hour drew to a close.  Anne dismissed the class and gathered the rest of her papers to grade that night.  She left the classroom and when she arrived at her chamber she sat down and began to grade the poems.  There was a knock at the door and Angel left with Harry, Ron, and Hermione for dinner.  Anne sat up all night with a bag of potato chips grading papers.  At midnight they were done and Anne stumbled into her hammock to get as much sleep as she could before her busy pizza baking day.

Friday morning arrived nine hours later.  Anne sprang from her hammock and ran up to the showers and back.  She was ready to bake by ten o'clock.  She waited until lunch, smoothing her hands over her brown travelling dress.  Anne braided her hair and then could wait no longer.  It was eleven and she excitedly ran up the stairs to the main level and then to the kitchen.  She dodged the students on their way to lunch and entered the kitchen with and unbound enthusiasm.

They made pizza dough and sauce until three o'clock when Anne had to clean up for her class.  The house elves had been instructed how to cook the pizza, and Anne had left with every confidence in their abilities.  She showered and changed into her pale blue dress with half length bell sleeves.  Anne entered her classroom and shortly thereafter Snape entered.  She flung open the door of the room with a smile and let her class enter.  She asked her students what their opinion on the Romantic poetry was.  No one answered.  Anne asked them what the problem was.  For a moment no one answered, then Ron raised his hand, "No offence Miss Schetzek, but after Monday a few of us are a bit apprehensive about your class.  It's not everyday that we find out that one of our teachers is a former Death Eater."  Anne smiled, "I understand completely.  Well then, what do you want to know?  I open myself up to your questions, comments, and concerns for the rest of the hour."

For a moment no one spoke, and then Owen Cauldwell spoke up, "How does someone like you end up in the Dark Arts anyway?"  Anne sighed, her smile still shining, "That is a question I am still trying to answer myself.  I can tell you my story though, and maybe that will help.  I moved from America to England when I was eighteen years old to attend Cambridge University.  It was there that I met others involved in wizardry.  One of them introduced me to their teacher, an old man living in a neighbouring village.  I won't go into all the details of my life at this time because it is still a bit painful to talk about.  The old man eventually took me to a meeting of other wizards.  That was where I first met Voldemort.  Yes, I say his name- once you know an evil personally you might as well call it by its proper title- that reduces your fear of the thing.  Anyway, I was twenty at that time and quickly growing in my powers.  He did not have his own body at that time.  At first I found him somewhat repulsive, but as time grew I found that I became used too much stranger things than someone sharing a body.  The parasite taught me many different things, most of them harmless at first.  He taught me levitation, duelling, basic spell casting, and finally the Unforgivable curses.  By the time I turned twenty-one I was one of the Death Eaters.  I became a favourite of Voldemort's, simply because I believed all that he told me and I was easily led.  Then came the missions- dirty work that was a bit disconcerting at first, but I got used to it.  Eventually I was sent on a mission to 'eliminate' a troublesome Muggle who was probing to far into the past of one of our members.  I failed that mission- instead of killing her according to the plan I lost track of her in the subway system under London.  That was my first failure, but Voldemort was quite forgiving of my miscalculation.  He told me that not everyone can succeed every time.  He assigned that task to another Death Eater and let me take a break.  I rested for a period and then on my twenty-second birthday he stationed me in Ireland.  That was where I met Angel, but I will get to that later.  A group of Death Eaters, myself included, went to a little village on the sea to root out the source of a disturbance there.  A local witch and wizard had become too strong for our comfort and were attempting to find anyone associated with the Dark Arts and turn them in to the Ministry of Magic.  We confronted them in their home one night.  I refuse to go into any detail as to what events came to pass that night- they are to horrific to remember......but anyway, after they were dead, we heard a noise from the upstairs.  A five year old child had heard our noises and was crying in her sleep.  I convinced the rest of the group to leave and to let me take care of the child.  They did and I went upstairs to check out the situation.  I found the little girl, but couldn't bring myself to harm her.  That night I made a decision.  I would leave the Dark Arts and take the child with me.  I stayed at the house that night.  The next morning I returned to the Dark Lord with a sinking feeling in my heart.  Five months later I learned that Voldemort had sent a group of Death Eaters to my home town.  My sister Grace had been training in wizardry and had been 'eliminated' as a challenge to my rise to power.  In the middle of that night I packed all I owned into a cedar chest, a sea chest, and a satchel.  I levitated them quietly out of the door and left the service of Voldemort forever.  The next day I found myself in the same seaside town I had carried out my last mission in.  Curious, I went to the local orphanage.  Sure enough I found the same five year old girl in sitting in a corner.  She was crying softly to herself, asking everyone who passed if they could adopt her.  I talked to the nuns and left that day with a daughter.  I told her to gather her things so she dragged a miniature sea chest over to me.  We left and I booked a flight to England, spending much of the little Muggle money I had left.  We kept moving through my twenty-third year and my twenty-fourth year until we had seen much of England, Scotland, and Wales.  We had a few scrapes nearly being captured, but made it out of all of them.  I home schooled Angel for the entire time that we travelled.  Before I had turned twenty-three Angel had told me how her parents died.  I had very cautiously told her of my involvement in the Dark Arts.  She had been entirely open and accepting of my past, forgiving me because of my own regrets of having ever been associated with Voldemort.  Angel knew basic wizardry from her parents and we continued to discover for ourselves what skills we possessed.  I turned twenty-five on October thirty-first of this year.  I stumbled across Hogsmeade quite by accident and stayed there until someone told me of Hogwarts.  I was down to my last ten gallions, so I pressed the trail.  We carried all of our luggage with us one day and set out to find the castle.  We entered the Entry Hall and set our chests down in the hallway, along with my satchel.  Then I opened the door to the Great Hall, hoping I had found the right place.  That was when you all saw Angel and me for the first time."

The class was captivated by her story to the very end of the tale.  Anne looked at the clock above the door, "Time for you to all to be dismissed.  I hope that clarified some things for you!"  The students left the room, many of them stopping to tell Anne how glad they were she had returned from the darkness.  Anne's heart warmed as she spoke to each student.  Maybe she and Angel would stay after all.

After all the students had left the room she sighed and sat on the corner of the desk laughing to herself.  Professor Snape walked over to her, "Well, you handled that quite well, Miss Schetzek."  Anne's smile softened, "It wasn't easy- and call me Anne."  He nodded and there was a slight silence before she spoke again, "So...how did I do this week?  I know it wasn't a typical week, but did I do O.K.?"  Snape almost smiled, "You did fine, Anne.  Now won't you come to Dinner tonight?  It has been quite quiet at the Head Table.  Perhaps you could get a conversation going?  After that confession today, you may want to make an appearance- you wouldn't want it to appear that you were hiding, would you?"   Anne laughed lightly, "Agreed.  I will definitely be at dinner tonight.  The house elves and I have a surprise for everyone tonight, and I wouldn't miss that for the world."  They left the classroom at the same time, Snape pausing a moment as Anne locked the door.  They began to walk to the dungeons in silence.  As Anne turned the corner to her chambers she noticed the door was slightly ajar.  She commented to Snape, "Angel must have a guest."  Snape nodded and walked to his classroom one door down, "I will see you at Dinner."  Anne nodded, "Precisely!" as she entered her apartment.

Anne entered the room to find Angel, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all seated around the large table.  Angel was helping Ginny with her Potions work while raiding Anne's "snack stash".  Anne smiled at the study group.  She tapped on Angel's shoulder, "You owe me potato chips, two Hershey's chocolate bars, and three two litres of Ruby Red Squirt.  Anyway....dinner tonight should be interesting."  Angel looked quizzically at her mother, "What about dinner?  Are you coming?"  Anne nodded, "Yes, I'm coming, and I won't tell you a thing about what the surprise is; you'll find out when you get there."  Anne winked at Angel.  She sat down at the table with them, "Can't promise anything, but if you need help I may be able to assist."  For the next few hours she sat at the table helping them with various subjects of homework and learning a few things herself.  The entire group left the room together to make tracks to the Great Hall.  In the hallway they met Professor Snape.  He nodded curtly to Anne as she locked her door.  Anne spoke, "Care to join us Professor?"  He busied himself with locking the door to the Potions Lab, "No thank you."  Anne shrugged as Ron shouted, "Last one to the Great Hall is a rotten egg!"  Angel, Harry, and Hermione dashed off to catch up with Ron as Anne stood laughing behind them, "Guess I'm the rotten egg," she remarked to Snape.  Anne waited a moment as he locked his door and they walked to the Great Hall in silence.

Before the meal began, Albus Dumbledore rose to address the students and staff, "Tomorrow, as you all know, you will be leaving the school for Christmas Break.  You have all, by now, received your grades for your mid-terms and well know whether or not to study over the Break- I trust you will have a wonderful and safe time, so let the feast begin!"  On each table rows of pizzas of every topping appeared.  Holli MacCumhail approached the Head Table and spoke to the Headmaster.  He rose once again, "There has been a request that there be mixed tables for this gathering, and it is a request that I will grant."  A cheer swelled from the student body as Holli ran down the stairs and sat down with Angel.  Anne smiled as the students mingled and laughed.  A pizza party before Christmas Break was definitely one of her best ideas yet.

The next morning Anne awoke to the sounds of excited students preparing to board the Hogwarts Express.  Angel had left the room, so Anne threw on her bathrobe to find her.  She mounted the stairs to find Angel at the top saying her goodbyes to her classmates.  Anne smiled and returned to her room to grab her clothing.  She then made her way to the shower and tidied up for the day.  She smoothed her full dark blue skirt before slipping into her maroon T-shirt.  The half length sleeves neatly covered the Dark Mark.  She returned to the hallway after dressing and began to wish the students, "Happy Holidays."  The next three weeks certainly would be quiet around Hogwarts.

The rest of Saturday Anne spent with the house elves.  For lunch they took a break form their regular cooking to fix Hummus and Pita for the few students and staff members left at the school over Christmas Break.  The house elves were intrigued by the ethnic dishes Anne was so fond of and they were determined to learn these fascinating recipes for themselves.  They were also quite interested in the secrets to crock pot soups and Anne was their ticket to that information.  The kitchen was filled with the smells of various soups and stews, attracting the nose of both Minerva McGonagall and the Headmaster himself.  They were surprised to see Anne in the centre of the group of house elves.  Minerva attempted to attract Anne's attention, "Anne?  Anne!"  Anne gave a little start, "Oh, Minerva, Albus, come right on in- you can join us if you want to- the soups will be ready for dinner tomorrow."  Minerva nearly spoke in protest to Anne's involvement in the kitchens, but Albus cut off her opportunity, "I, for one, would be more than happy to join you- it could be interesting to learn your secrets."  He smiled and stepped into the kitchen further.  Minerva hesitated at the door, but at Albus' prompting entered the kitchen also.  Shortly thereafter Angel appeared in the doorway, "Mum, can I go to Hagrid's hut with Harry, Ron, and Hermione?"  Anne turned from her cauliflower mushroom barley soup for a moment and shouted to Angel across the room, "Dress warm and you can go- just be back here for dinner."  Angel thanked her mother and ran off to find her winter coat.

Angel scrambled up the stairs from the dungeon with her heavy coat in her arms.  She met Hermione at the top of the stairs.  The boys were waiting for them in the Entry Hall.  Hermione and Angel ran to meet them as Angel was attempting to put on her coat.  The four friends left the huge front doors to find themselves in a world of white.  Angel skipped through the snow with Harry, Ron, and Hermione following.  Harry turned to Hermione and Ron, "Where does she get all that energy?"  Ron shrugged and Hermione raised her eyebrows.

Back in the castle Anne had finished with her crock pot and was circulating through the kitchen checking the various soups.  She finished her rotation and sat down on the countertop.  Bob stepped over to her, "What does Anne suggest for dinner tonight?  We finished off most of the leftovers ourselves over the past few days.  Winky and Dobby say there is no more pizza, the students finished it off yesterday.  What does Anne think for tonight?"  Anne looked around the large kitchen and began asking Bob if they had certain ingredients.  Bob confirmed that everything was somewhere in the kitchen, so Anne asked if they had a large pot to boil noodles in.  Bob once again positively answered her inquisition and curiously tipped his head, "What is Anne thinking?"  Anne looked at him kindly, "Have you ever made Fettuccini Alfredo with Linguini noodles?"  Winky shook her head, "Winky has never made that," she turned to Dobby, "Has Dobby?"  Dobby shook his head and turned to the rest of the house elves, "Have any house elves ever made Fettuccini Alfredo with Linguini noodles?"  They all shook their heads.  Anne stood up from her countertop perch, "Well, after tonight you will have.  Find the pot to boil the noodles in, and gather the following ingredients..."  Anne listed a series of foodstuffs and began to make dinner for the few students remaining at Hogwarts.

That night at the single table used during Christmas Break sat Anne, Angel, Harry, Hermione, Harry, Ron, Hagrid, Minerva, Albus, Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, and Holli.  Anne was curious as to why the three Slytherins had not gone home.  She could see that Angel was just as inquiring, as were the other students.  Anne decided not to spoil the light atmosphere of the meal by bringing up the topic, so she merely ignored this as an irregularity and smiled as all the students temporarily got along with one another.  After dinner Anne retired to her chamber while Angel retreated to Gryffindor House with Harry, Hermione, and Ron.  She opened up the sea chest tucked under the hammock and pulled out a vibrant red bolt of cloth, a roll of thread, a box of pins, and a needle.  She laid the items on the table and set to work.

Later that night Angel crept into the chamber thinking that her mother may have been asleep.  She very carefully entered the room.  As Angel shut the door Anne looked up from her work, "Angel, it is ten o'clock at night- you should have been in bed by now- and home by far earlier."  Angel looked sheepishly at her mother, "Sorry Mums, we were talking about things and the time slipped away.  I hope that this is not going to create a problem?"  Anne smiled, "Just try to be more practical about the times you are getting back- I would like to get some sleep each night."  Angel climbed up on the table, "What are you making, Mums?"  Anne grinned, "Well, I don't have a dress formal enough for Christmas anymore, so I decided to make myself one...I do hope it turns out all right!"  Angel's smile met her mother's and she clamoured up into her loft.  Anne tucked her in, turned down the torches, and fell asleep the moment her head hit her pillow.

Sunday morning came all too early for Anne.  She dragged herself out of bed and stretched while she walked over to her dressing corner.  She dug through her clothing chest and pulled out a simple black velvet dress.  Anne laid the dress on her hammock as she reached for her bath robe.  She made her way to the door, closing it quietly on her way to the showers as not to wake Angel.

When Anne returned to her chamber, she noticed Angel was still fast asleep in her loft.  Anne decided not to wake her and went back to work on her dress.  At eleven o'clock Angel finally sprang from her bed, bounding down to the floor below.  She walked over to her mother who was stitching the sleeves of her project gown, "Mums?  Is it time for lunch yet?"  Anne looked up from her work and answered, "Nearly, wait for a short hour or so and then it will be time for lunch.  Heaven knows what we are having, probably soups."

The day flew by faster than any Anne had experienced during her stay at Hogwarts.  Before she realized the day had passed, she was stitching the hem on the skirt of her Christmas dress and readying herself for dinner.  Anne and Angel walked together to the Great Hall.  They were delighted to be having crock pot soups as they had eaten for lunch.  Angel tried the vegetable soup, while Anne stuck with her old favourite, Mushroom Cauliflower Barley soup.  They laughed through dinner together, and somehow the Slytherins managed to keep a tentative peace with the other students at the table.  Anne decided she would have to inquire as to why Draco and the other Slytherins were staying at the school over Christmas Break.  She walked over to Draco and in an exceptionally friendly manner cleared her throat to begin speaking, "What caused you and your friends to stay here over Break?  Albus has told me you usually spend this time of year at home."  Draco turned to her, "My parents are quite busy, if you must know- it is none of your business anyway."  Crabbe and Goyle nodded their agreement.  Anne stepped back to Angel, "Well if they aren't as friendly as rabid pit-bulls...I wonder what their parents are up to."  Angel looked her mother full in her face, "I think I know who they are with- I don't even want to know what they are doing while in his service."

On Monday, Anne and Angel made a trip with Hagrid to Hogsmeade for Christmas shopping.  Angel and Hagrid departed in one direction, while Anne went off on her own.  Anne knew just what to find Angel.  She went strait to the tailor shop and softly approached the desk, "Excuse me, Miss?  I need a set of plain black robes for my daughter, and I also will need your help in finding her a little something special...."

Meanwhile, Angel had led Hagrid to the Quiddich Supply shop.  She looked up at Hagrid's tall frame towering over her, "Mr. Hagrid, what do you think- can we find something for Mum in here?"  Hagrid smiled down at the little lady he was escorting around Hogsmeade, "Knowing' yer mother, this'll be the place that we find 'er Christmas present."

After Anne left the tailor shop, she crossed the street and entered a confections shop.  She was careful to note the positions of all the shops as they passed, for she knew that she would never remember their names.

Hagrid and Angel left the Quiddich shop with a large parcel.  She fingered the coins in her hand, "Well, I still have a little left, so let's go to the pet shop and see what we can find there- Mum has always wanted an Owl..."

Anne left the confections shop and walked quickly down to the Potions shop.  She had a mission of her own to complete over Christmas Break.

Angel, Anne, and Hagrid met back in the Great Hall an hour later after they had hidden their gifts from one another.  They laughed together, telling one another of whom or what they had seen while in the town.  Anne asked Hagrid to watch Angel that night while she finished an errand of her own.  He happily agreed to grant her request.

Monday evening Anne left the school property and teleported herself into a quiet alley in Hogsmeade.  She slipped out from between the buildings to finish her shopping without anyone to give away her secret task.  She travelled around the shops purchasing little stocking stuffers for Angel and a few other little gifts.  She also stopped and bought herself a nice scroll to write her Christmas letter to the Headmaster on.  She finished her shopping and teleported back to the property just beyond that belonging to Hogwarts.  Anne made her way carefully through the forest to the school.  She was unafraid of the forest, even at night, for she knew that far more evil things lurked Azkaban, and in the heart of her former Master.

Anne knocked softly on the door to her chambers as the clock in the Entry Hall chimed midnight.  She thanked Hagrid immensely for his help and hid the gifts under her table.  She pulled out her sewing and began to diligently work on finishing her Christmas dress.  It was near 5:00 in the morning before Anne finished her sewing and crawled under the covers in her hammock.

Angel slept nearly until noon the next day and left her mother a note that she was going to, "Check on the status of the Christmas gifts."  Anne woke an hour later and smiled at her daughter's note.  It read, "Mum- Good Morning to you!  I have gone to chek on the statis of the Christmas gifts.  I hope they have rapped themselfs over-night.  See you this after-noon."  The little misspellings made the note quaint to Anne, and she tucked it in her cedar chest next to her clothing.  She pulled the bags out from under the table and began to wrap the stocking stuffers in colourful paper she had bought the night before.  After an hour of careful wrapping of the stocking stuffers, Anne wrapped gifts she had picked up for Minerva, Hagrid, and Albus.  She then pulled out Angel's gifts.  She tied a ribbon around the small bag of candies she had purchased and set them aside.  The silver box that the robes lay in was not decorated, so Anne wrapped the corners with a crimson ribbon and left the simplicity of the wrapping lend to its charm.  After finishing with those parcels, Anne wrote out her scroll to Albus and set everything aside on the top of her cedar chest.  She dragged her heavy sea chest out from under her hammock and slowly opened it.  She drew out a small ebony box and set it on the table.  Anne carefully began to measure and mix these with the potions she had purchased the day before.  She poured the finished concoction into an old label-less wine bottle she had found on her travels and quickly corked it.  She shook the bottle gently and tied it with a violet ribbon.  To the ribbon she attached a small note that read, "Merry Christmas Severus- may the years ahead be blessed with love and understanding.  Your 'neighbour' in Hogwarts, Anne."  She tucked the ebony box and all the unused potions into her sea chest and tightly latched the lid.  She placed the bottle on the floor next to the sea chest and went to the Great Hall to meet Angel for dinner.

Christmas Eve proved to be very peaceful.  The Slytherin students were unusually quiet at dinner, while Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Holli were unusually excited about the following day.  Angel's eyes were glimmering in the dim light as she anticipated the dawn.

Christmas morning came early as Angel bounded over to her mother's hammock to awaken her at 6:43.  Anne was already up.  "Mum, Saint Nicholas found me here too!  Can I open my stocking now?  Please Mum......"  Anne beamed at her daughter as she lit the torches around the room with her hand-magic as she called it.  Angel pulled her stocking over to the table.  Anne spoke as she pulled herself out of bed, "Well, you know we have to go up to the Christmas tree to open other presents- I tucked them under it last night."  Angel replied, "Well Mum, that is where I had Hagrid put yours too, so maybe I should take my stocking up there and open it- well, what are we waiting for?  Let’s go!!"  Anne laughed as Angel practically dragged her out of her chamber and up the cold stone stairs to the Great Hall.

By the time they entered the Great Hall, it was 7:00 and Hagrid, Minerva, and Albus joined them shortly after.  Angel was too excited to wait until after breakfast to open her presents, so Anne let her empty her Christmas stocking before breakfast.  She poured the contents onto the floor in front of the tree and set to busily unwrapping the little toys her mother had found or made for her.  There were colourful little tops, a bag of marbles, a set of jacks, and many bright paper dolls with carefully detailed dresses that glittered in the morning light that the charmed ceiling cast down on the happy company.

Everyone was in good spirits when the large breakfast was laid out in front of them on the one long table.  Surprisingly enough, even the Slytherins were cheerful.  Anne smiled at Draco Malfoy and was surprised that he returned her smile.  Angel was restless all through breakfast as she anxiously waited the time when she would be allowed to tear open her presents.  Anne laughed at her impatient earnestness as Angel squirmed while waiting.  Finally breakfast was over and Anne followed Angel as she raced to the Christmas tree and crawled under it searching for her presents.  Anne smiled as she watched her daughter and listened as only a mother could to the music of Angel's excited voice.  Angel pulled out the little satchel of candy and ran to hug her mother joyously, "Thank you Mums- do I have anything else under there?"  Anne laughed and hugged her daughter back, "Yes child, one more gift, now go and find it."  Meanwhile Hagrid had found his present from Anne under the tree.  He tore off the blue wrapping and stared in wonder at the crystal globe in front of him.  It was gently tainted with a watery blue colour and in the centre if the globe was an intricately carved black dragon.  Hagrid sighed with wonder as he stared deeply into the orb; he walked over and gave Anne a huge hug, "Oh thank yeh Anne- I coulda never thought yeh would b'able t'find summat like that!"  Anne smiled, "I heard about your dragon friend back when Harry was a first year and I thought that this would be perfect for you."  Smiles spread as Minerva opened a little box and pulled out a delicately crafted Celtic knotwork broach, "Anne, where did you ever find this?"  Anne smiled broadly, "I have had that for years, since I was a child- I have never worn it, and since you wear broaches and such, and I thought it would look lovely with the dark colours you wear, I decided that this was the perfect gift for you."  Minerva's smile spread across her face as she fashioned it on her dress and removed her old broach.  Albus found his scroll as Angel cried out triumphantly, "Ha!  Mum, I have found it!"  Albus sat back in his chair, "Anne, I will read this later on my own time.  Angel- show us what you found."  Angel gazed entranced by the silver box.  In an instant her eyes changed and she tore the ribbon off, hung it around her neck, and lifted the lid off the box.  She gasped as she drew out a simple set of black robes.  She set them aside as her mother's eyes teared up for joy and Angel drew out the other set of robes in the box.  They were a deep emerald that floated as Angel drew them out of the box.  They were trimmed delicately with gold and the large butterfly sleeves drifted gently around the body of the robes.  The room fell silent as Angel starred in disbelief at the robes in front of her; shifting her gaze to her mother she gently pulled them over her pyjamas and pulled them closed.  She twirled around, then ran to her mother and gave her the biggest hug possible.  No words were spoken between the two for a short time, and then Anne spoke, "Now go put them away until Christmas Dinner- they are only for very special occasions and holidays."  Angel nodded and complied, then handed her mother a long, thin box from under the tree.  It was as tall as she was, and Hagrid had to help her to carry it to Anne, "Here, Mum.  This is one of the things- the other one isn't quite here yet." she turned to Hagrid, "Can you go check on it for me?"  Hagrid nodded as Anne knelt down to unwrap the box at her feet.

Gently Anne turned the box over to untie the delicate silver ribbon from the dark blue case.  She lifted a latch in the middle of the lid flap and carefully drew it open.  Under a couple of layers of tissue paper shone the deep mahogany handle of a Cleansweep Quiddich broom.  Anne pulled it out of its casing and ran her fingers over the slightly used wood, "My Lord, Angel, where did you ever find this?  It is just like my old one I left back.....  This is wonderful!"  Angel jumped onto her mother's lap, "Wait 'till you see what the other thing is that I got you!  Hagrid- we're ready!"  Hagrid came through the doors to the Great Hall with a barn owl on his arm, "'Ere she is, Angel, 'ere she is."  The owl took flight and landed on the broom handle Anne was still holding, "For you, Mum."  Anne sat in an overjoyed shock for a moment before she gave Angel the biggest one-arm hug that was humanly possible.

That day flew by in a flurry of motion as Anne and Angel prepared themselves for Christmas Dinner.  Angel wore her lovely emerald robes while Anne wore the dress she had stitched just for the occasion.  It was red taffeta with cap sleeved to hide her Dark Mark and a little diamond of embroidery on the chest where a necklace would fall.  The dinner was wonderful, smooth and calming without incident.  Anne tucked her daughter into bed late that night with a sigh, folding their dress clothing and placing them into her cedar chest.  Anne herself crawled under her covers and sighed deeply, another Christmas come and gone, this one the first in many years she had celebrated without being alone.

The 26th came and went in a blur, ending with the 27th coming before it was expected.  Anne decided that she needed to test out her owl before the new semester started, so she pulled out a piece of parchment and thought of who she knew outside those still at Hogwarts.  There were only the other teachers and the dark wizards who came to her mind, neither of who she felt she could talk to.  The other teachers did not really know her, and the dark wizards were currently trying to kill her (contacting them was not a wise choice).  She searched the room with her eyes hoping that something in the room would give her a mental clue as to whom she should contact.  Her eyes fell on the bottle corked beneath her cot.  Severus:  she would send him an owl.  Anne laughed as she thought of what his reaction would entail, and then pondered if he would bother to respond.  She scrawled the letter quickly, "Dear Professor Snape..." she paused- no need for formality if she was writing a friendly letter, so she cut the top off of the parchment and began again, "Dear Severus," much better, "I hope you have been having a wonderful break and are looking forward to the second semester.  It is so odd here without hearing your Potions lectures from next door!  I am excited to continue teaching this next semester!  Really the whole reason that I am sending this to you is to let you know that Angel gave me an owl for Christmas and to test her wings.  Let me know if she does alright!  Also, what did you get for Christmas?  See you soon!  Love always: ~Anne."  She rolled up the letter and tied it with a green silk ribbon and gave it to her owl, "I need to name you before you fly off- do you like the name Deirdre?"  The owl hooted softly and nodded, "Then that is your name- be swift dear, and come back with a response if he is in the mood to give one!"

The rest of the day was a blur, and all that Anne could remember was that Angel and the house-elves were quite enthusiastic about planning for a New Years party and preparing all the food for it.

On the 28th of December in the dim early evening light, Anne patiently awaited by the front door of the castle watching the snowfall for the return of Deirdre.  She hoped that Severus would respond quickly, she was anxious to here from him.  Over the Holidays her thoughts had for some reason often turned to him.  She was curious to why he was so bitter and cold to everyone in the school, but for some reason he had been able to sit and tutor Angel and she had thought he had been rather pleasant toward her.  Anne knew he had a past in the dark arts, and she hoped that he was safe from the Dark Lord.  She knew that she herself was being hunted, and for some strange reason she felt that if he were to be in danger, she would feel affronted herself.  It was odd that she should feel such a connection to someone who was virtually a stranger to her.  She shook her head free of the thoughts as Deirdre flew into her sight.  The owl dropped a thin scroll into Anne's outstretched hands and flew off the owlry to catch a well-earned rest.  Anne was too impatient to wait until she went inside so she tugged at the end of the ribbon and it slid off of the letter.  She noticed that it was green silk.  Carefully she unrolled the message and smiled.  As she had suspected, it was quite short and to the point.

She pulled her eyes from the graceful script as Holli called her name from the Entry Hall, "Anne, Angel wants to know if she and Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I can all stay the night on New Years Eve.  Is that alright?"  Anne smiled and turned her attention to Holli, "Oh- of course.  I don't think any of us will be sleeping that night anyway- but beware that I was planning on opening the room up to the entire group to use for a dance hall after I pull the table into the hallway."  Holli's smile grew to a full out grin, "That is wonderful!  This will be so much fun....  Thanks Anne!"  Anne turned her attention back to the falling snow and then to the letter.  "Miss Schetzek, the owl performed her duty as expected.  I did not get anything for Christmas.  I will see you on January 3rd.  ~Prof. Severus Snape."  So much for a lack of formality.  Anne rolled up the scroll, tied it off, and walked back into the school.  She opened the door to her chamber and lit the torches with her hand-magic.  She walked over to her sea chest and cautiously opened it and slipped the letter inside.

Sunday, December 29th- Angel and Anne sat once again in their cold quarters in the late morning reading the parables of the book of John with a light heart and a love for song.  Angel pulled her tattered songbook out of Anne's sea chest and flipped through it.  Anne sighed.  Why she had ever let Angel ever see the contents of her sea chest was still a mystery to her, but the child had understood the purpose of everything in it.  Anne shuddered at the thought of what was below the false bottom of the chest that she had not let Angel's curiosity discover.  Hopefully she could be rid of it all before the end of the year.  Angel began singing and brought Anne's thoughts back to the present. 

Bye and bye when the morning comes

Anne smiled and spoke softly to Angel, "I pick the next one.  I would like to sing 'Hands'.  I know it is not traditional, but it feels right to sing it now."  Angel smiled, "'K. Mum."

Anne and Angel finished their song and Anne smiled.  Angel closed her songbook, said a prayer for the upcoming week, and the little family went on with their relaxation for that Sunday.  Angel disappeared with her friends while Anne hunted all over Hogwarts until she found a piano.  She finally found one tucked in an obscure classroom on the fourth floor.  She sat down and began to play anything that came to her head.  For hours on end she played, her tired fingers pushed forward by the sheer force of her will and her need to express herself through music.  Classical pieces flew off her fingers alongside pop music from her childhood and dark themes that she had written while in the service of Voldemort.  Hagrid knocked on the door, "Anne?  It's suppertime if yeh were plannin' on joinin' us."  Anne smiled, "Yeah, I'm coming, wait for me?"  He nodded.  They walked to the Great Hall and Anne took her seat with Angel and the other students.  After dinner, Anne decided, she would have to ask Albus if she could use that room as her escape room when she needed to disappear; days when she had been especially reflective and had been thinking to much on the past.

In the blink of an eye it was 7:00 pm on December 31st and piles of food were arranged on the long table in Anne's room that had been shoved against the wall.  The rest of the room was filled with the students, teachers, and house-elves dancing to rock music and somehow Anne had gotten an old television set to work powered off of magic and it was showing the New York celebration.  The volume of the television set was muted so that only the rock music could be heard.  The small room was overflowing and the party extended into the hallway beyond.  As Angel turned up the volume on "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" on the radio Anne had rigged to also run off magic, Holli and Anne began to dance a little more spiritedly and the party really had begun.  Hours later and the food was diminishing, and the ball was just beginning it's descent to the rooftop.  The entire group of friends huddled together into the chambers and shouted out the countdown together.  Even Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, and the few other Slytherins joined in the joyful yell to the beginning of the New Year.  Anne smiled- this was the family she felt included in, the family of the staff and students of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry- and this was where she wanted Angel to grow up.

6:00 a.m. January 1st- Wednesday- The group of partiers stumbled up to their respective Houses and fell into bed.  Angel and Anne collapsed into their beds as soon as all their guests had left.  "Angel?"  "Yeah, Mum?"  "Weren't we having guests stay the night here tonight?"  "We were Mum, but they decided to go to bed in their own beds so they could sleep all day tomorrow."  "Angel, I think that is a good idea."  "What?"  "Sleeping all day today- the staff returns on the third and I want to be well rested for that."  Anne sighed and felt her bones settle as she lay on her hammock.  She turned out the torches and heard Angel turn over before she slipped off into a deep and restful sleep that lasted until noon.  She let Angel sleep and began to plan for her next sewing project.  After she decided that she was making a slightly formal black dress out of velvet, she gathered her materials and began to work.  At 6:00 pm her eyes began to droop and she climbed back into bed.  Angel had slept all day.

Anne woke at 5:00 am on the third and noticed that Angel was already awake and studying for her classes, "Just brushing up, Mum, before I have to jump back into the whole schoolwork thing."  Anne smiled, "Are you excited that all the teachers are coming back today?"  Angel gave her mother an impish grin, "Yup, and I know you are too- at least about seeing Professor Snape."  "Angelique Marie LeFay!  I hardly know the man!"  "I know Mum, but do you honestly think that you two will stay strangers?  I know something big will happen here, and it might just be..."  "Angel, don't even say that- you know how I feel about anything more than friendship and I know that is what you are hinting at."  "Sorry Mum."  "It's alright- just don't pull that stunt again."  Anne went over to the big table and pulled it with her levitation to the centre of the room where it had stood before the party on New Years Eve.  She threw on her bathrobe over her nightdress and put her daily clothes into a basket to take up to the showers.  She returned to her room 45 minutes later in her traveller’s dress and threw her traveller’s cloak on over it to shield her from the chill of the winter air.  Angel dressed herself in a pair of jeans, a purple t-shirt and a white cardigan sweater that she had bought in Ireland along with a thick pair of wool socks and pink bunny slippers.  Anne laughed, "Angel, those slippers never cease to amuse me."

At 9:00 am the first wave of teachers began to filter into Hogwarts.  Anne heard the door slam shut next door and smiled to herself:  Severus was back.  She went to her hammock and picked up the bottle she had mixed for him and gently shook it.  She waited for the door to open and close again and then she slipped out of her door and set it in the centre of his desk.  Quietly she escaped back to her own chambers and sat down at the table to work on her dress.  Angel walked into the room, "Mum- it's nearly lunch and when I ran into Mr. Snape he asked where you were.  I told him you were lurking in the dungeons.  I think he may have actually been amused."  Anne laughed, "How could anyone not be when you are wearing those adorable slippers?"

Anne and Angel went upstairs for lunch and mingled with the returned staff.  Anne noticed that as usual Severus had distanced himself from the group and was standing on the outside of the group.  Before she could approach him, she felt a slight tug on her skirt.  It was Winky, "Anne?  Winky has a wondering- will the rest of Anne's friends like Anne's soups?"  Anne's eyes shone kindly at the little house-elf, "Of course I think they will, Winky.  You and your friends are such wonderful cooks that I think you could satisfy even the pickiest of eaters."  Winky grinned, "Thank you Anne!  Winky is eternally grateful for your compliment!"

Lunch went smoothly, and afterward Albus called a staff meeting.  Anne entered the room a little late; she had been delivering Angel to Holli and all her friends.  The staff was chatting pleasantly when she opened the side door at the back of the room and stepped into the chamber.  Once again she noticed Severus distancing himself from the group and once again her opportunity to talk to him was interrupted, this time by Albus Dumbledore, "Ladies and Gentlemen- your attention please?"  Silence fell over the room, "Thank you, I have a rather disturbing piece of news to give you, our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Miss Terlynise Adrians, was unfortunate enough to break her ankle and a few ribs in a rather serious skiing accident in the Alps.  Now while we are glad that the extent of her injury was not too great, we are left with a problem- no Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor, and it is a class that we cannot go without.  I was wondering if there was anyone here who would volunteer to teach the class."  Anne's eyes met Snape's.  She read in his face that he wanted that job, but knew that because of his position as Potions Master that it would be impossible.  As the silence hung like a wet blanket over the room, the double doors at the front of the chamber flew open with a resounding crash as they slammed into the wall.  A man stood in the doorway, his face weathered and his black hair strikingly similar to that of Professor Snape, only shorter- just brushing his chin.  He walked regally into the company with a slight limp, favoring his right leg, barely detectable to someone who was not trained to identify people in a large crowd, as Anne was.  He stood facing the staff, panning his vision from left to right, his eyes first locking on Severus' face, and then on Anne's.  Then his gaze fell on the Headmaster, "Hello, I am looking for a position where I may aid in the guiding of young wizards for the cause of defeating He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.  Can you help me?"  Albus smiled, "We are in need of a Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor if you feel you are qualified."  "I feel that I am quite qualified for just that type of work."  Albus nodded, "Then come with me for an interview- Minerva, I would like you to also come and talk to this gentleman.  What is your name sir?"  "You may call me Eddwords- my first name is of no concern to anyone."

After they had left and the other staff members milled about, speculating on the newcomer, Anne finally made her way to Professor Snape, "Hello Severus- it's good to see you're back here safely.  How was your break?"  He muttered something unintelligible.  Anne spoke again, "Severus- that man, he seemed to zone in on us there when he first walked in.  Do you have any ideas why?  It was a bit creepy.  This is all too convenient."  Severus turned his gaze to her, "Miss Schetzek- think about it for a moment- what do we share?"  Anne shook her head, "I don't understand...."  His voice grew slightly more impatient than usual as he leaned close to her ear and whispered intensely, "I know you know that I have a past, one that I am not proud of, and one that you have a parallel to.  The only two wizards in the room with connections to the dark arts are the two he focuses on- I know you aren't so daft that you could not see it as well as I could."  He let the conversation fall as Anne's fears of her former life came flooding back to her in fresh torrents.  She excused herself from the room and nearly ran back to her chambers to think things over.  One thing that she concluded before she opened her door: she would be avoiding this Mr. Eddwords as often as possible.

Severus Snape left the crowded meeting and escaped into the dungeons and back to his classroom.  He noticed that the door was opened a few centimetres.  Bloody thing- always drifted open if it wasn't latched perfectly.  He pulled the door open and entered the room.  He sighed, only half the year left.  He walked over to his desk and noticed a wine bottle sitting on the desk.  That had not been there before he left.  He dragged it over to in front of him and untied the violet ribbon.  He carefully unfolded the little note and read it aloud to himself, "Merry Christmas Severus- may the years ahead be blessed with love and understanding.  Your 'neighbour' in Hogwarts, Anne."  Severus sighed as he uncorked the bottle, not quite knowing what to expect from his gentle neighbour.  Out of the bottle drifted pale violet smoke that formed into the shape of a butterfly and then fluttered off into the air, dissipating as it went.  Severus shook the bottle and found that all its contents had evaporated into the butterfly.  He set the bottle under his desk and tucked the note into the top drawer.  This little gesture of kindness was something Severus Snape was not used to.

At dinner that night the teachers resumed eating at the Head Table and the students all sat at one of the tables.  To Anne, the room seemed uncannily quiet.  She waved to Angel slurping her chicken noodle soup.  Angel waved back with a noodle hanging from her lips as she sucked it inward and it flipped up and smacked her on the nose.  Anne laughed and Snape turned to her with a slight amusement.  From the end of the table, Eddwords intently watched Anne and Severus.

On Saturday, January 4th, the students all arrived back from their break on the Hogwarts Express.  Anne stood at the doorway and greeted each student with a smile as they walked into the Entry Hall.  Angel went visiting after the train had unloaded and helped her schoolmates to unpack their things.  Anne spent the time sewing and by the end of the day she had made quite a lot of progress on her project.

The next day Anne spent planning for the next unit she was going to teach.  She decided it would be on music.  It promised to be and interesting lesson.

End of Part One

PART TWO

Monday, January 6th:  Anne sat in her classroom with her phonograph rolling out Irish jigs and reels as her students entered the room and seated themselves in preparation for class that day.  Anne whistled for their attention, "Excuse me kids- are you all ready to begin class?"  Everyone sat down and gave Anne their full attention, "All right- here is our next unit- Music!  So, what so you think is the definition to music?"  Over the mutters and cheers of the students in her class, Anne called to one of the students who had their hand raised, "Yes, Mr. Stewart Ackerly- how do you define music?"  Stewart began his definition, attempting to shout it over the din, "Music is-"  "Excuse me Stewart; I can't here you- one moment.  Class!  Sit down and be quiet please!"  An awkward hush fell over the classroom.  "Thank you.  Now, Mr. Ackerly, you are free to continue."  Stewart cleared his throat and began to speak, "Well, music is a rhythmic expression of an artists emotions."  Anne nodded, "Does anyone have a different definition or something you would like to add to that?"  Hannah Abbott raised her hand and Anne pointed to her, "Yes Miss Abbott?"  Hannah spoke, "I think music is sounds and patterns pleasing and expressing the views of the writer of the song."  Anne nodded, "I like that one too- so, is anyone in here a musician?  Instruments or vocals, it doesn't matter- raise your hands high- be proud of your talents."  Many of the students held their hands high, "If we have enough kids, y'all should form a band or something- play some serious tunes here."  A mutter ran through the room; Anne went to her mahogany desk and pulled a stack of papers off it, "Well, our first assignment is to pick a song you like and analyse the meaning behind it.  I will be expecting about a half a page of writing on it and I will pick volunteers to present their findings to the class," she finished passing out the paper, "Now, you have the assignment sheet, so you don't have any excuses.  Does anyone want me to demonstrate before you jump head-first into this thing?"  A general murmur of consensus ran through her student body, "O.K. kids, here goes- keep in mind that the last time I did this was in high school over in the States, so don't expect perfection."  Draco snickered and she glared in his direction, "Be careful my young friend, I am not afraid of your parents and I will not hesitate to punish insolence."  Anne pulled a wax cylinder out of her desk drawer and loaded it onto her phonograph. 

Ron sighed; he expected that since Anne was playing off a crank start phonograph that she would be playing something terribly old and probably boring.  He was pleasantly surprised when she set the spindle rolling and a pop version of Lean on Me began to dance out of the horn of the phonograph.  Anne smiled at him directly, "This is by the Temptations- it is amazing what you can record onto one of these things if you get bored enough- but I have discovered that you can run a C.D. player, radio, 8-track, L.P. player, tape deck, and full sound recording system off of magic.  Quite fun if you ask me."  It took nearly four minutes for the song to play itself out, and at the end Anne took the needle off the cylinder and spoke to the class, "All righty then, that song is called Lean on Me; it was originally released back in the 60's.  The meaning of the song is that no matter how bad things get, a friend will always be there for you...and then if I was in your shoes I would look for similes, metaphors, symbols, and the like and then talk about each.  Don't just say, 'Oh, yeah, there is a simile in verse two,' that won't cut it- tell me what the simile is and what it means- same deal with the metaphors and symbols and all that jazz.  Pick a song you like and that is decent- I don't want to get owls carrying angry notes saying, 'You played what in your classroom?!' so keep it clean.  Yeah, we should probably get to the next task this hour."  Some of the kids groaned as she walked to her desk and retrieved a pile of papers.  She smiled and laughed, "No, it's not another assignment- they are your Poems of Address, and I would like to say that they were all wonderful, but if any of you would like to read an exceptional one, talk to either Mr. Longbottom or Mr. Potter (all three of his are wonderful).  So- here they all are- Holli and Ernie, will you please pass the rest of these out?  Thank you."  She handed the stacks to the two earnest helpers and continued to her desk.  She sat down behind it and addressed her class once again, "I don't have anything else to give you or to assign you today, so lets have those song things for tomorrow and you have the rest of the class to do what you will- but I suggest that if you have a lot of other work tonight, that you work on the analysis project- if you can acquire a copy of the song, it would be much helpful to me when I am grading them and I do have the capabilities to play any media type you happen to have if you are going to present yours to the class tomorrow."  She saw Draco confer with Crabbe and Goyle- she knew that they were probably planning trouble, or trying to find a media format that they thought she could not play.  Anne smiled inwardly; there was no way she was going to let that happen, not in her classroom.

That night the Great Hall was filled with the excited chatter of the students calling to their friends and explaining everything that had happened over Christmas break.  Albus Dumbledore called over their clamour, "Everyone, attention here, please.” a hush fell over the student body, “Welcome back to Hogwarts, in case you have not noticed, we have a new staff member in our midst.  Professor Eddwords has volunteered quite unexpectedly to take over Miss Terlynise Adrians' position as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher while Miss Adrians is out.  For those of you who are unaware, Miss Adrians was injured in a severe skiing accident over this break and is unable to complete the year with us.  If you would like to send her something, you may contact either Minerva or myself.  Now, today the house-elves have prepared a wonderful meal of Italian descent- lasagnes of all sorts!  Hope you like them!"  Everyone cheered as the tables became covered in lasagnes and salads and all sorts of other dishes that went well with lasagne.  Anne was content with the meal and proceeded to partake in the general merry-making, but careful to avoid the prying eyes of Professor Eddwords.

Tuesday came and Anne's students handed her their papers one by one.  She told the students who wanted to present their songs to keep their analysis and then to hand them in after they were done presenting.  Ginny presented her song first, it was Loch Lomond, Lavender Brown presented Wild Child by Enya, Blaise Zabini presented Rammstien's Du Hast, Holli MacCumhail presented She Moved Through the Faire, and lastly the three Slytherins that Anne began calling the spineless trio came to present.  Crabbe and Goyle each analysed Marylyn Manson pieces which Anne cut off part way through the song.  Then Draco stepped forward and handed Anne a C.D., "Oh, yeah, the songs on it are in mp3 format and won't play on a C.D. player."  She grinned and pulled a thin laptop from under her desk, "Did I mention that you can run a computer off of magic too?"

Anne began her study of music for the day with a look at pop music.  She set up her computer and accessed her music files.  This was going to be fun.  She found her Brittney Spears and cranked Stronger.  She yelled to the class over the blaring music, "So, what is so great about pop music?"  She received a shouted response from Holli, "You can dance to it!"  Then Anne smiled and suprised the entire class by hanging up her outer robes to reveal a little red dress.  Then she shouted to them, "So what do you think the best way to study pop music is?"  Elenore Branstone grinned and shouted back, "Listen and dance!"  Anne nodded, "Amen, sister!  So, this is what the rest of this class period will be spent doing- just stay off the desks."  With that Anne walked down the centre row and encouraged the students to get on their feet and just dance for the love of music.  By that time, the next song on her play list had sprung up and N'Sync was filling the classroom with Bye Bye Bye and Anne was having a great time.  She worked her way through the moving masses to Holli, who was dancing like she was born to move in that manner.  Between the two of them they managed to look like they themselves were part of a pop band, dancing the night away at a gig in the centre of a crowd of fans.  More Brittney Spears filled the air next as Oops...I did it again loaded.  As it began, there came a knock at the door.  Anne watched as Harry opened the door.  Standing there looking as though the world had just come to and end was Professor Snape.  His eyebrows rose to the ceiling as he told Harry to find Anne.  She danced over to him and reached the doorway as the chorus belted out, "I'm not that innocent."  Anne had some great moves for that line, and her face challenged the very stiffness that Snape was known for.  She walked close to him as the verse played and spoke loudly over the music, "What is it that you need, Professor?"  He shook his head, "What is the meaning of all this?!"  She     smiled, "I figure that the best way to study pop music is to experience it- and pop is made for dancing.  So here we all are- join us?"  He shook his head to indicate that he would rather be eaten alive by a single scarab, even if it would take more than a million years.  Anne smiled and asked again, "So, what are you looking for?  I know you just didn't just come in here for the heck of it- no one ever does.  So what do you want?"  He sullenly replied, "I just wondered how everything was going- Albus sent me to see if you were having any troubles now that I was out of the room and the students had recently returned from their Holiday."  Anne shook her head, letting her long hair fall off her bare arms.  The Dark Mark she had so much feared was easily seen.  She spoke up, "Naw, I'm just fine, hon.  Now that they all know I have this thing they know my past- the secret is out and all- I don't think there will be any problems.  Thanks for checking with me though- I really do appreciate it all."  He nodded, "Then I have what I came for.  Good day to you."  "Have a cheery one yourself!" she replied.  She went back to her dancing. 

Ten minutes before the end of the class and there was one song she had left to play.  She stood up on her desk and yelled for the attention of the class, "Hey, attention here please!"  The room fell silent, "I have one last song to play for you before we have to sit down, so I decided that no pop party is complete without the song written by the Backstreet Boys that is simply called Pop.  So here goes my friends- get all that dancing energy out now, 'cause this is the last tune I'm gonna play tonight."  She cranked the volume, jumped off the desk, and began to dance as though her life depended on it.  She watched as Dean Thomas and the Weasly twins began to break-dance in the middle of the room.  She let them keep on having fun until the song ended and she walked up to her desk and shut down her laptop.  The students dragged the desks back to their rightful places in the room and then sat down.  Anne addressed them, "So, do you all have a bit of an understanding of this stuff now?"  Many heads nodded.  Then Harry raised his hand and Anne nodded in his direction, "Miss Schetzek- I don't think that Professor Snape appreciates pop music."  Anne laughed, "Someday we'll have to give everyone in this school an introduction of what we do in this class.  I can tell you one thing- I don't think they'd ever be able to forget it even if they tried."  On that note she dismissed the students and gathered her music players.  She locked them all in a cupboard beneath the desk and left her room to meet Angel and clean up before dinner.

That night in the Great Hall there was a buzz about that Miss Schetzek was not only a teacher, but a dancer who should be choreographing for the pop stars.  Anne was inwardly flattered by the comment, but seeing that her seat was next to Professor Snape she chose to keep quiet about the entire situation.  She was still wearing the red dress, but with the long robes over it.  Angel was thrilled that her mother finally wore her little red dress- Angel thought that with Anne's black forties-styled heels that were four inches tall and the long robes left to hang open that Anne was drop dead gorgeous.  Truth be told, she was not the only one who thought that and many of the men in the Great Hall at that time would have whole heartedly agreed with Angel.  Anne would argue that point, but Angel (being a stubborn little Celt) could never be defeated in her argument.

The next day was Wednesday, and Anne had planed for her class to study rock 'n' roll music.  She decided that instead of attempting to have another dance party and get away with it that she was going to bring in different instruments used in rock and see if the students could learn about the creation of the music and have fun with that.  Anne had an electric guitar of her own, but she needed to find other instruments as well.  She found that Holli had a drum set up in Hufflepuff house and that she would be more than enthusiastic to have it in class.  She told Anne at breakfast that she and all the friends she could find to help her move it would bring it down before class started.  Anne agreed to that and noted to herself that today would yet again be quite an interesting day.

The end of the week came more quickly than Anne would have expected.  She sat in her chamber that Saturday reflecting on her lessons the week before.  Her rock exposition on Wednesday went well, as had her exploration into classical music on Thursday and her look at folk music on Friday.  She had wanted to have the students write songs the next week, but her heart was not into her lesson plans.  She looked at her planbook sitting on the table in front of her and sighed.  For some reason this was not the work that she had wanted to do with the students- writing a song would not keep all of their interest, and if they were unsuccessful it could prove embarrassing.  She pulled her quill pen out of the little box on the table and drew a long line through the entire week's plans.  She decided that she would just quit the music lesson and find something else to teach over the next week.  Unfortunately, her mind had drawn a complete blank and she was left in the dark as of what to teach.  She decided to take a break from her work and visit Professor Snape next door instead.  Perhaps he would have an idea of what she could cover with her students.

She knocked tentatively on the heavy door of the potions lab and as she waited for a reply she smoothed the skirt of her grey knit dress.  To her, the dress looked Elfish, but she laughed at the thought of comparing herself to Tolkien's elves.  It was silly to her to compare herself to such a lovely fantasy.  She sighed and knocked again, still timidly.  She heard a gruff reply, "Enter."  Anne slowly pushed open the door and meekly entered the room, quietly closing the door behind her.  She turned to face the desk and fell under the piercing gaze of Professor Severus Snape.  She cleared her throat and softly spoke, "Sorry to bother you, Professor, but I am a bit discouraged and I would like some advice, if you are willing to give it."  Snape leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.  He waited for her to speak next.  She took his hint and continued, "I am at a slight loss as to what to teach next week.  I would like it to be an artsy kind of topic, but I just can't think of what to do.  Can you help?"  He remained silent for a moment as in thought, and then he sighed, "No."  She let her shoulders fall in frustration.  Seeing this he leaned forward on his desk, "Miss Schetzek?"  She looked up sadly, "Yes?"  He spoke again, "What did you do while in the service of the Dark Lord?"  Anne sat at one of the lab tables and sighed heavily again, tears almost floating to her eyes.  She managed to fight back her emotions and then to speak in a quavering voice, "I was in the potions section, elimination, and foreign affairs."  He leaned back onto his chair and steepled his fingers against lips, still watching her with interest, "Would you be willing to help me sort things in the laboratory this weekend?  Since you were in the potions section with the Dark Lord, I trust that you know what you are doing in a laboratory and I would be willing to have your help.  Perhaps while you are dusting or something your mind will discover what you will teach next week."  Anne nodded, "All right- I'll help.  It'll help me to get away and do something different for a change."

By Monday Anne had familiarized herself with nearly everything in both the regular storage area, and in the cabinets in Professor Snape's office that were strictly off limits to students.  After seeing what they contained, Anne understood why they were restricted.  Unfortunately she still didn't know what to teach that day.  She entered her classroom early and began to root through everything she had stashed beneath her desk.  Many of the objects she had requested via Muggle-post from many of the people she had stayed with during her days of running from Voldemort.  She pulled out a map she had made and unrolled it- all of England and Ireland were pictured and the various towns she had hidden in were marked and the places she stayed within that town were notated on the map also.  Anne paused.  She remembered the many hours she had spent in libraries sitting and sketching out her map, notating historical points and points of old Celtic interest, and those moments when she poured over the texts and charts before her while deciding were to go next.  Anne slowly stood up and flattened the map on her desk.  She pulled four tacks out of her desk and pinned the map up on a corkboard on the wall between her desk and the windows.  She went back to digging under her desk- she still didn't have anything to teach in an hour.

An hour later and everything that had been under her desk was sitting on the floor in front of it.  She sighed- still no idea as what to teach that day.  Her students began to file in and some of them met the sight of her sitting on the floor in the midst of a mess with a look of surprise.  Others entered the room and smiled at Anne as though this was something to be expected- something normal.  Anne stood up and brushed the papers off her lap.  She addressed the class, "Honestly, I have nothing planned for today because I crossed off what I had in my planbook in favour of finding a new topic and I couldn't think of anything.  Therefore, I hereby declare this day a workday- keep the talking to indoor voices; I will tell you that you cannot talk at all if you abuse this privilege.  So get to work- and Malfoy, if I hear or catch or find out that you were doing anything but work this hour, then you and all of your buddies will find your butts in detention for so long you won’t know when the school year ends.  Don't think I haven't heard stories from the other teachers."

Anne spent the rest of her Monday cleaning out the piles of junk under her desk and planning for the week ahead.  She decided to keep with the music theme, but to add a different twist to it.  For the rest of the week the students would be allowed to research any type of music that they wished and then write a report on the evolution of that music and analyse one song of their chosen genre and tell how it fit into the genre they had stated that it represented.  The reports were due on Friday, and Anne spent another uneventful week monitoring the kids as they worked.  She liked the pattern of easy days and quiet nights that she was experiencing, it was so much better for both Angel and herself than the chaotic running had been, it was quite nice.  Anne and Angel spent the evenings working on Angel's class work, Angel teaching Anne all she had learned that day in class.  Not only was Angel learning, but Anne was also.  Her education with Voldemort had been limited to what he had wanted her to learn and what she needed for his services.  She loved this newfound knowledge and would happily tell Professor Snape each evening at dinner what new topic Angel was teaching her that day.   Despite his apparent distain and aloof attitude, Professor Snape found it interesting to hear the wonder-filled tales that Anne told him about her learning in topics that he had thought were elementary.

That weekend was spent grading reports and then on Sunday evening Anne began to work on her plans for the next week.  She was going to teach a dance unit, and she needed to choreograph a demonstration for each day.  Angel would definitely be drafted to help her mother that week.

Monday, January 20th:  Anne entered her classroom early and arranged the desks in a circle around the outside of the room to allow demonstration space and so everyone could see what she and Angel would be demonstrating.  As the hour for her class approached she became a bit nervous.  Things were getting more complicated in the style she would be using, so she was hoping that the kids would be able to stay tuned into her lessons.  Anne sighed.  Maybe she would just try it for a day or so, and change her plans if the current ones went awry.

The students filed into the room and began to work on finding seats and managing to sit near all of their friends.  Anne whistled for their attention, "Hey, let’s get sitting so I can start here, O.K.?"  The kids drifted to seats and Anne sat on her desk, "Alright, ladies and germs, our next unit is going to be a dance unit.  Draco, don't roll those eyes at me, they might get stuck up in your head.  We will be starting with ballet tomorrow, and then we will move on from there.  This next lesson will be mostly demonstrations and such, so I will hope that you will be considerate of the performers.  You will be expected to participate in the discussions that are held about each art form, and note-taking is advisable.  We will end the demonstrations next week Wednesday and on Thursday and Friday you will be writing a paper comparing two of the dance forms you experience this week and a half and it will be due on Monday when you return.  Slacking during the time I give you for the essays is not advisable, considering I have heard that Professor Snape has a busy weekend planned for you.  Are there any questions before we begin today’s lecture?  No?  Then get your pens and paper ready, I'm gonna roll."  Anne lectured that day on the history of dance and the earliest recorded uses for it.  From self expression to storytelling, she covered every reason she could think of that a person would execute this art and she somehow kept the majority of her class from falling asleep.  There were the occasional few snickers from a couple of the guys in class, but she shot them her 'if you do that again, you will be living in detention' look and they settled down quite respectably. 

Anne carefully set aside her lesson plans for the rest of the week in her desk drawer and left her classroom after the students had all left.  She walked back to her chambers with a spring in her step, only to find that the room was invaded by a group of random students studying for Potions.  Apparently there was a big test in the class the next day.  "So much for a relaxing afternoon," thought Anne.  She sat down at the table and asked the students what help she could be and then spent the rest of the afternoon running to the kitchen for snack food for the kids and helping them with their homework when she could.  She had an extensive background in the actual making of potions, but the history and symbols that the kids were studying were highly unfamiliar to her.  Both she and the students were completely befuddled by a symbol that they swore had never existed in the Greek alphabet that usually the mathematical world borrowed for its uses.  Angel thought it was in Ogham, but Anne reminded her that Ogham was only straight lines.  This symbol was rounded.  Various other suggestions were made as to which language the symbol came from and what it meant, but no one seemed to be able to come any closer than, "it looks eastern and it has something to do with how deadly the potion is."  Finally Anne got sick of the confusion and stood up, "Just one moment and we will know for sure."  She left the room and knocked on the Potions room.  "Who is it?" came the gruff reply.  Anne leaned close to the door, "It's Anne- I have a question for you about the kids' homework."  Snape came to the door, "What?"  She smiled, "We have no idea what one of the symbols means- everyone in my room right now, that is about ten students or more, is absolutely clueless as to the origin and meaning of one of the characters.  Can you come over and help?"  Snape nodded and followed Anne into the crowded study session.  A hush fell over the room and all of the students looked nervously to one another, wondering who would have to present the question to him.  Anne addressed the crowd, "O.K., here is how you find the answer- Angel found out earlier that asking has not killed anyone to date that either of us know of, so if you are so anxious to find out what that thing is, then somebody ask."  Angel walked fearlessly up to Professor Snape, "What is this and where did it come from and what does it mean?"  Snape took the tattered book from the little girl's hands and studied the symbol intently, "That is the Egyptian hieroglyph for 'death'.  It is used to designate the strength of the poison or other potion on a scale similar to the pH scale- the range is zero to fifteen, with zero being harmless and fifteen bringing instantaneous death even if only a drop of the potion is ingested.  The scale is based on powers of ten, so a one is ten times as powerful as a zero.  The scale does not take into account those potions which can kill with only a touch of the liquid to the skin- they are classified differently and therefore are measured on a different scale."  Angel took the book back from Snape and nodded, "Cool- thanks for helping."  Snape asked Anne if there was anything else that needed attention, she shook her head, and he left and returned to his classroom.  The silence was broken and the students went back to their studies.  Angel was happy- she was the only one brave enough to talk to Professor Snape, and she was only eight.

Once again the week flew by without incident.  Anne recapped all the week's demonstrations before she started Friday's.  "Alright- who can tell me what we saw on Tuesday?  Crabbe- you are always so eager to talk during the demonstrations, tell me what you saw on Tuesday."  No answer came, so Anne asked Goyle.  The same results were found, "Yeah, you two absorbed a lot from this week.  Hermione, what did we see?  Recap the entire week if you can for these two.  They seem to have been here physically, but without their brains."  Hermione laughed before she began her story, "On Tuesday Angel demonstrated ballet while Anne did the same moves later on Pointe.  Wednesday there was a jazz dance demonstration, and then on Thursday Angel covered Gymnastics.  Is that all, Miss Schetzek?"  Anne nodded, "Thanks Hermione.  Today I will be really getting into the lesson because it is tap, and I love tap.  Take notes on the lecture, and listen to the rhythms that I create- there is no other dance form except maybe clogging that I know of where making noise is encouraged."  So Anne tapped.  She went extremely fast and Harry wondered if she was really dancing or if there was some sort of magical illusion creating Anne's skills. 

At the end of the class period and her lecture Anne made a slightly surprising announcement, "Hey, you're not excused yet- I have one last thing to say- the Hogwarts' All-house choir will be created this weekend on Sunday at two- come if you want to sing!"

At dinner that night Holli stood up and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Hey everybody!  I'm going to be forming a dance guild this weekend- Saturday at three- if any of you want to join me, meet here in the Great Hall and we can just have a great time!"  Anne smiled and made a mental note of that.  She and Angel would have to come and see what was going to be happening and dance their hearts out with Holli and her friends.

Anne and Angel had a wonderful weekend.  On Saturday they both joined the dance guild and under Holli's instruction they began to work out choreography that Anne had began working on years before and had never executed.  On Sunday there were nearly sixty students who showed up to the choir.  Anne was happy to see that in an organized situation all the houses could at least act like they could get along.  She began with a simple song that she had learned while in high school called Pinch Me, by Barenaked Ladies, a group of Canadian guys.  She had a lot of fun with the kids who were eager to sing anything that Anne threw at them.

On Monday Anne entered the classroom in a less than expected manner.  She step-danced in.  Anne was dressed in a traditional Irish step-dancing garb.  Angel trailed her in a similar dress.  Anne's dress was black with the elaborate knotwork panels, while Angel's dress was green with similarly done panels.  Anne smiled at the looks she got from her students.  Perhaps this interest in her unusual clothing would spark an interest in both the lecture and demonstrations that she and Angel would perform.

The next day her clothing was just as unusual as she and Angel performed scenes from both Riverdance and Lord of the Dance in their demonstrations of Celtic tap.  On Wednesday her clothing returned to something at least semi-normal as she taught and lectured on the dance form of hip-hop.  She was dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a tank top. 

After she taught her energetic class, Anne received a notice that the Headmaster wished to see her.  She hurried up to his office and knocked neatly on the door.  She heard a cheery voice call to her from within, "Come on in, I am expecting you, Anne."  Anne pushed open the heavy door and entered a sunny room with the Headmaster sitting in a huge armchair.  He smiled at Anne and waved her forward, "Here, come closer Anne- I have a bit of a task for you tomorrow.  If you are willing, I would like for you to go into Eddwords' class and observe him."  Anne sighed, "Well, I am incredibly uncomfortable with the idea, but I will if I must.  If you don't mind me asking, why can't someone like yourself or Minerva take this on?"  Albus sat back in his chair, "We have no background in the Dark Arts."  Anne asked again, "Then why did you pick me over Severus?  Surely he is more experienced in evaluating other teachers than I am?"  "We did ask him, but he blatantly refused to have anything to do with Eddwords."  Anne took a deep breath, "Well then, I will put aside my discomfort and I will take the assignment."  Albus nodded, "Thank you, Anne.  It is only for one day, I think you should be fine."

Anne sat through an entire day worth of Defence Against the Dark Arts classes taking notes on everything from which lessons were covered, teaching methods, and then she compared the methods he described to the methods she knew from experience to counter each spell or curse that Eddwords covered in that class.  She left only to find that she had lost her angel charm somewhere during the day.  She did not have time to look for it before she had to teach her own class, so she decided that as soon as today's lesson in choreography had come to a close she would run down to the Defence Against the Dark Arts room before turning her notes in to the Headmaster.

Her class ran smoothly, and as had become the pattern as of late, no incidents occurred which were particularly notable in Anne's diary.  She walked quickly to Eddwords' classroom, eager to find the little pendant which usually occupied the third space on her charm bracelet.  She knocked lightly on the door to the room, hoping that there would be no unpleasantries in her little visit.  She was admitted with a, "Come" from within.  She cautiously entered the room and addressed the figure hunched over the desk, "Excuse me, Professor Eddwords?  Did you happen to find an angel pendent anywhere in here?"  He handed her the charm.  As he did, she swore that he muttered something under his breath.  She stopped with the pendent in her hand as her curiosity got the better of her, "What was that?"  He looked up from the desk, "I said, 'Heaven knows you need an angel."  Anne shook her head, "I know I have one- he is quite precious to me- but why do you say that?"  His countenance turned hostile, "Because both you and your beloved Professor Snape are, shall we say, on a highway to Hell?"  Anne's cheeks turned red with hurt, "Don’t even try to be cute and quote AC/DC to me. Why are you so hostile in your actions toward Severus and me?  What did we ever do to offend you?"  Eddwords stared at her with eyes as cold as stone, "He is a selfish recluse who is cruel to his students and takes his anger with the world out on everyone he comes in contact with.  He is uncivilized without a hint of nobility in his veins- a prime example of Slytherin house, if you ask me.  On top of it all, he is one of THEM anyway, secretly he works for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."  Anne was appalled at the accusations thrown out, "Eddwords, how dare you defame his reputation like that!  He is introverted, yes- he forms a wall to keep people from finding out what he has been through, and on top of all that, neither he nor I work for Voldemort now.  That is a dead past.  How do you know these things anyway- what is your source?"  Eddwords grinned cockily, "I help the Ministry root out people in his position, your position- that is how I know what he has been involved with.  Anyway- you did work in the Dark Arts- that is all that matters.  If your curiosities are expansive I can tell you why I think him uncivilized too."  Anne challenged him with her eyes, "Yeah, bring it on: Give me one good reason."  Eddwords leaned forward in his chair, "He killed his own brother, Robert, and all of Robert's family- a wife and three children."  Anne's face froze in shock, her entire body locked in the stunned silence of the dimly lit room, "That is all behind him now though...the past is gone; it cannot be changed, only mourned for."  Eddwords nodded, "You too have killed before- do you feel the same about your own past?"  Anne let the anger filling her mind begin to rise and show through, "Yes- quite so- my baby girl understands where I stood at that time, and God has forgiven me for that sin. Don't you go spreading Severus' past around like you are so above him anyway- it is his business to decide when to reveal himself to the world.  What you say about me, I don't care- everyone here knows anyway and I do not fear the world knowing who I was." The anger in her heart was heard through a tremor and a harshness in her clear, usually kind voice, "Let the man alone- no wonder he keeps to himself, if he ever did open up, people like you would go and spill his secrets to the world- Lord knows that it is hard enough to live with your own knowledge of your past, let alone to share it with another and to trust someone so deeply that you can tell them without fearing it will end up known to all."  Eddwords snapped at her, "These secrets should be shared- the people need to know what they are dealing with."  Anne felt disgust mingle with the anger, "And you call him uncivilized- look at what you are saying!  Ostracize a fellow human being for a past which he himself regrets and cannot bear to speak of!"  Eddwords sighed, "My dear Anne-"  "You will call me by my proper name, 'Miss Schetzek', and drop the 'dear' off it.  I am obviously not dear to you."  Anne turned to leave the room and walked determinedly to the door.  She opened it and glared back at him, "Good bye, and good riddance."  The door slammed shut behind her as Eddwords chuckled wickedly in the darkening shadows of the evening.

Anne turned her report in to Albus and, without saying anything of the incident which had just occurred, returned to the dungeon to prepare herself for dinner.  Angel jumped with surprise as her mother abruptly entered the room, "Mum!  What's wrong?  You never get this angry..."  Anne flopped down into a chair, "Oh Angel, Professor Eddwords was being extremely judgmental of both myself and Professor Snape, although it was mostly Severus.  Sorry hon- you know that kind of thing upsets me."  Angel smiled and climbed into her mother's lap, "Yeah, I understand- let's get ready for dinner, maybe we'll have something Italian tonight," her tone turned to that of a restaurant advertisement with a fake Italian accent, "I have a craving for manicotti stuffed with ricotta cheese and smothered in your spaghetti sauce."  Anne let her aggravation slide from her spirit and she laughed, "Oh my little Angel- you never cease to amuse me.  C'mon- let's go eat."

Anne ushered Angel into the Great Hall and happily took her place next to Professor Snape.  She smiled at him and settled in for dinner.  The food appeared on the table, and much to Angel's delight it was the dish she had described earlier.  Angel caught her mother's eye as her delighted hands reached for the garden salad in front of her.  Anne smiled back, giving her glass a little toast to acknowledge Angel.  Once again, her interaction with her daughter caught the eye of Professor Snape.  Anne turned to him and let her infectious smile shine, "Angel told me that she wanted this for dinner about ten minutes ago."  He nodded and Anne continued, "Is there any chance that I can talk to you after dinner?"  He answered her as he reached for his goblet, "About what?"  Anne sighed and nearly lost her smile, "A few things I heard today that are bothering me."  He nodded as he set the goblet back down.  Anne's happiness returned with the relief that entered her heart, "Thank you, Professor," and dinner continued with his silence.

After dinner, Anne followed Snape to his office in the dungeons.  She sat on the edge of one of the student's tables as he settled behind his desk.  He watched her expectantly, so she began, "This is really a bit awkward for me, so please be patient with me, if you can." he nodded for her to continue, "Eddwords told me something about a piece of your history today that I am unsure of.  I want to lay it to rest with you."  Slightly impatiently Snape prompted her to continue, "Well, what did he tell you?"  Anne took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, she opened them and met his gaze, "He told me that you killed your brother and his family while in the service of Voldemort, and that brother's name was Robert.  I hope you don't mind that I call the Dark Lord by his true name."  Anne waited for a moment as Snape's stony face melted into one that was laced with years of wearying secrets that heavily sat on the heart that was rarely seen.  He quietly answered Anne's inquiry, "It is true- I have gathered that this was what he holds against me, and that is why he is disagreeable towards me," Anne nodded slowly as he continued, "and if you wish to hold that against me as he does, I will not blame you."

Anne stepped up to his desk and leaned her arms on it, "No, the past is behind us now- it cannot be changed, only repented.  That must have been one of those jobs that hits hard in the long run- one that you look back on and wonder how you ever had the strength to do it.  I failed my first 'hard task'- I was supposed to follow my room-mate from Cambridge into the sewers and kill her there.  I 'lost' her in the subway system in London on purpose.  I think Voldemort knew that though, he then assigned me to learn the art of Potions because it was indirect.  I went to Angel's house to observe how a new poison worked.  It was effective, but too fast for the Dark Lord.  That, as you well know, was my last service to the Dark Arts."  Snape looked at her with a hint of surprise on his face, "You don't seem to be to judgmental concerning Eddwords' accusation."  Anne smiled through her remembered pain, "Well, if I condemned you, I would also have to condemn myself.  It is done and gone, cannot be changed, so why dwell on it?  I am glad that you left that trade- it helps me to deal with everything knowing that there is someone else here who knows what it was like.  We both would rather like to keep some things hidden."  Anne paused for a moment and straightened her spine, her back cracking as she stretched, "Two more questions, Professor,” he raised his eyebrows, "The first, can I come and talk to you about this kind of stuff?  I need someone to help me carry this load.  The second is- can I call you by your first name?”  He hmpf'ed and then spoke, "I will help keep your secrets if you will keep what you know about me a secret.  And yes, you may call me Severus- thank you for asking."  Anne's smile deepened as she replied, "I planned on keeping your secret safely tucked away.  I really should go and find my daughter- get her ready for bed and all- that girl can be a handful some days..."  He nearly smiled, "Goodnight then, Miss Schetzek."  Anne shook her head, "Call me Anne- there's no need for formality here."  He spoke again, "Goodnight then, Anne."  She laughed, "Goodnight Severus!" and she left to find her little Angelique with a strength in her heart- she felt the beginnings of what would become a strong friendship budding and she took comfort that she now had someone to confide in.

The next day Anne sprang up in her hammock with an idea, she showered and dressed quickly in her black everyday dress and ran to find the Headmaster, she would need his permission to pull this off.

Anne was so full of energy that when her students entered her classroom that day they wondered what had happened since the day before when she had seemed slightly preoccupied.  She clapped her hands in rhythm to attract their attention and her smile spread throughout the room as she spoke eagerly on the next task, "All right, ladies and germs, today we will be starting something that will most likely change every single one of you in some way, shape, or form.  I have asked and gained permission to have you all perform a musical of Broadway calibre for the school.  Starting tomorrow the script for 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' will be available for you to review.  Auditions will be next week during class in a neighbouring classroom.  While your classmates are busy auditioning for parts, you will be researching for a report on any topic that you chose.  The packets describing anything you would need to know for this assignment are here on my desk- you are responsible for picking them up, and I will hold you accountable for everything in them.  Today is a free day, and if you wish to get the packet and begin work now, you are more than welcome.  Rules for the free-day:  keep the noise to a dull roar; if you torment your classmates, detention will be assigned; and let those who wish to work, work.  Anything else I think you need to be informed of and I will tell you as it comes to me."  Anne sat down at her desk and began to grade the daily quizzes from the dance unit and let the hour soar by without a single hint of trouble.

That night at dinner, Anne announced the musical to the rest of the school.  She smiled and sat back down, hoping that these spontaneous plans would flow as well as she predicted.  Professor Snape turned to her as she settled back in her chair, "So, you think your students can manage a musical of that calibre?"  Anne smiled, "If my high school class could handle it, so can these kids- I have seen their creativity and spontaneity in class- they can and will pull this show off.  I know they can."  Snape returned his attention to his meal.  Anne sighed and began to serve herself steamed broccoli- this next adventure would be a beautiful trek into her creative side.

Anne slept soundly that night humming melodies from the Broadway to herself as she drifted into dreams.  She awoke in the morning and headed to her classroom to distribute scripts and audition materials.  She arrived at her door to find a large crowd of students waiting for her.  She unlocked the room and sat down at her desk to begin her task.  Hopefully they would still be as enthused about the show when rehearsals began.

Sunday came and Anne was awoken by a very excited Angel, "Mum, it snowed last night- and a lot of it!  Get up so we can go play!"  Anne sprang from her hammock, eager to have a day with just her daughter.  She bundled up after dressing in her tunic and leggings and helped Angel to get her snow things on.  Suddenly there came a sharp rapping on the door.  Angel hopped from her mother and, while struggling to get her snow pants pulled up over her jeans, somehow managed to answer the door.  Anne was laughing hysterically when a deep voice interrupted her amusements, "Miss Schetzek, what is the meaning of this clamour?”  Anne rose gracefully from her chair and replied to him, still beaming, "It snowed last night."  He looked at her quizzically, "That is minor reason for celebration, not enough to shriek about."  Anne kept her smile as it transformed into a cocky grin, "It's a day with my Angelique.  That is a definite reason to 'shriek'," she paused and then added, "You want to join us?"  Snape stood back for a moment- he seemed surprised at the invitation, "No thank you- I have work to do."  Angel shrugged, "'K.  Whatever you want.  If you get done with work and you want to come out and find us, feel free."  He nodded and then, with a swish of his billowing robes, turned on his heels and left.

The entire morning Anne and Angel pummelled each other with snow.  They bounced dripping into the Great Hall for lunch and then raced back outside after they had hastily finished eating.  After they both had reached the site of their battle earlier in the day, Angel looked up to her mother and her pretty little face gave off a puzzled air, "Mum- Professor Snape wasn't at lunch, was he?"  Anne stopped forming the snowball in her hands, "Now that you mention it, I didn't see him at the Head Table- I ate with you today, so I didn't look up there.  Wonder what he is up to..."  Angel raised her hands in bewilderment, "Heck if I know, Mum- let's get back to business," and so they did.  Anne and Angel's arms were nearly tired beyond use when Angel called to her mother, "I've got and idea-" Anne interrupted, "That's a scary thought," Angel gave her mother a little glare that quickly faded as she hit her mother with a snowball, "We can build ourselves a snowman!  Maybe a snow-wizard!"  Anne laughed and began to roll a snowball for their sculpture.  With Angel helping to decorate it, the snow-wizard would definitely turn out memorable.

As the happy little family began to detail their work's face, there came a creaking of the heavy doors of the school over the stillness of the winter air.  Angel glanced over her shoulder, "That’s Professor Snape- he’s just watching us by himself.  I wonder if he will come over here."  Anne straightened her spine and turned her attention to the dark figure at the doorway of the school, "When and if he's ever ready, then he'll join us.  No need to rush him beyond his comforts, babe."  They continued working on their snowman, and as they did, they heard a soft crunching of the snow under slowly treading feet.

Angel was the first one to turn to meet their guest.  She smiled and waved as her mother backed away from her detail work and stepped forward to greet Snape.  Angel walked right up to him and tugged on his arm, "Come and look at the front of our masterpiece."  Snape followed the wiry little eight year old to where Anne was standing; as far as he could tell, the snowman was not an average snowman- from his angle, and it was shaped wrong.  Angel stood him next to Anne, "Here- now you can see it better- how do you like it?"  Snape let an almost-smile form on his usually frowning lips, there in the snow stood a tall snow-lady wearing what appeared to be a wizard's hat and next to her was a much shorter statue of a little girl made out of snow holding a stick-wand.  Angel tugged on his sleeve again, "Can you guess who it is?"  He looked down to her, "Of course- it is you and your mother."  Angel turned her eyes to the sculpture and sighed, "There is only one thing missing."  Snape and Anne both looked at Angel for a little more explanation and she continued, "It's missing a dad."

The next week began and Anne began to audition every single student in her class for parts in the musical.  The process was tiring and trying of Anne's patience.  She changed her mind about the location of her auditions and decided to hold them in her own classroom and move her students into the library where there would be someone to supervise them.  Before she could imagine, it was Wednesday.

Angel hurriedly carried her fiddle from her room in the dungeon up to the library.  Holli wanted to meet her after Anne's class ended, and Angel was running late.  She had stopped to say hello to Professor Snape on her way up from the dungeons, and had asked him if he could play the fiddle.  He had answered with a no, and Angel had told him that if he ever wanted to hear her play, just to stop by and ask, because asking never killed anybody that she knew of to date.  As she scampered down the hall she noticed Malfoy and his two shadows lurking in the hallway.  She shook her head- those three were more trouble than it was worth to deal with them.  Malfoy turned to her, "Hey, where are you going with that violin?"  Angel stopped in her tracks and looked up at them with a slightly guarded look on her face, "It's a fiddle, and I'm going to meet Holli.  What do you care for?"  He bent closer to her face, "A fiddle and a violin are the same thing."  Angel raised an eyebrow, "It is so obvious you have no idea what the difference is because you never considered the Celtic perspective."  He ignored her, "I still think you are related to the Weasleys."  Angel let herself get slightly cocky, "And that would be bad, why?"  Malfoy stood up and sneered, "They're poor."  Angel stood up tall, "Mum and I were when we were running.  So was my dad- and he was one of the best musicians in all of France.  He played fiddle, flute, and different kinds of pipes."  Malfoy countered her, "Why was he so poor then?"  Angel was ready to answer that, "He moved to Ireland with my birth mum and was still one of the best, but he couldn't beat some Scots at bagpipes, some Kildare boys at Ulillian pipes, a few Dubliners at flute- but he was still said to be one of the best of all of them, and one of the only folk who could play all of them.  At his fiddle though, he was never beaten, and up until the day of his death he was known as the best in all of Ireland.  Fiddle was what really mattered to him musically; the other instruments were mere hobby."  Malfoy was cynical, "If he was so good, why wasn't he rich?"  Angel confidently argued her point back, "He never made a record- believed in a good old-fashioned house dance rather than money or fame.  He let me take hold of his fiddle when I was three and said to me, 'Lets see if our little lady got any of my fiddlin' blood.'  He told everyone he met after that that I had held it perfectly and began playing within days.  This is that same fiddle here in my hands- Dad's best, favourite, and only fiddle at the time of his death."  Malfoy was still convinced that the argument was not lost to him, "Prove that story about your musical greatness."  Angel smiled mischievously, "Gladly," and began playing slowly and classically.  Mozart, Beethoven, Puccini, and others melded together and flowed gracefully from the bow.  Then she began to speed up, not looking up at the eyes of her challenger for a moment.  The velocity of her playing increased as she proved her skills with old jigs, reels, and anything else that she had heard at barn and house dances while travelling the countryside with Anne.  A crowd of students gathered, including Holli.  Holli looked around her and saw Hagrid towering above the heads of the students.  She worked her way over to him and addressed him, "Hagrid, I can't keep from dancing- do you know how we dance in my home country?"  He smiled, "Of course Holli!  Country folk dancin' is one of m' favourite types of dancin'!" and they began to dance as though they were out in someone's barn on a Friday night with the neighbours.  Holli laughed, "Just like back home in Ireland," as Angel picked up the speed of her playing.  The others were clapping and cheering as Malfoy's eyebrows rose higher with the ascending speed.  Crabbe and Goyle's jaws nearly touched the floor.  Soon the pace escalated to beyond a danceable speed and Holli and Hagrid stopped dancing to stand and watch the little fiddler's fingers fly.  Angelique pulled the last note out and let it linger in the air.  She tossed her bright Celtic locks from in front of her face and amidst the cheers challenged Malfoy, "Did that prove it to you?"  Holli stepped to her side, "Did he say you couldn't play or something?"  Angel smiled, "He told me to prove the story I told you about my daddy giving me his fiddle when I was three."  Holli faced Malfoy and with the same Celtic defiance stepped in front of him, blocking his attention from going anywhere else, "Eat dirt, Malfoy," she turned her back to him, "Three cheers for Angelique Marie LeFay!"  The gathering of students cheered enthusiastically for the little Celt and Holli then ushered Angel from her crowd of now-devoted fans to the Hufflepuff dorm.  Malfoy and his two partners in crime were left alone in the now deserted hallway.  His eyes followed Angel and Holli as they left, "Some day we have got to find a way to knock her off her little pedestal- it can't be that hard, she's only eight."  The other two boys nodded their heads in silent agreement.  Trouble would come for Angelique Marie LeFay, and soon.

Nothing happened on the sixth and seventh that Anne found extraordinary in any way, shape, or form.  She woke up on the eighth with her past weighing heavily on her mind.  She knew this would be a difficult day for her daughter.  Angel was sitting at the table flipping through her old photo album when Anne came back from her morning shower.  Anne sighed, "Angel baby- I'll be outside for the most of today- you can have the time to yourself, O.K.?"  Angel nodded as her big green eyes reflected the torchlight of the dimly lit February morning, "Yeah mum.  Thanks."  Angel turned her back on her mother and returned to her pictures.  This was the anniversary of the death of the LeFays.  Angel would be very quiet today as she thought about her parents throughout the day.

Contemplative and remorseful were Anne's steps as she left the room after dressing in her heavy black velvet dress.  It was a bit fancy for a simple winter day, but it was warm and would keep her from catching a chill while wearing her black velvet cloak over her dress.  Anne began to take the stairs up to the Entry Hall to leave the building when for some reason she was compelled to turn back.  The Potions lab- if there was any day to go and speak to Severus about her past weighing on her mind, it would have to be this one.

Anne knocked softly on the large, heavy door and hoped that an answer would come from within.  She waited for a moment, and hearing no answer, she slowly turned around to leave as a deep sigh escaped her saddened heart.  As she took her first few steps away from the Potions classroom she heard a quiet creaking from behind her.  She turned around slowly and met the gaze of Professor Snape, "Miss Schetzek?  Was there a reason you knocked?"  Anne smiled, "Yes."  He raised an eyebrow, "Well...what is it you knocked for?"  Anne bowed her head, her eyes cast to the floor, "Can we take a walk?  I need to talk to you."  He nodded, "Where?"  She raised her slowly flooding eyes to meet his, "Outside, please."

The quiet pair walked outside in the silent winter air in a soft, swirling falling of large, fluffy snowflakes. The hood of Anne's cloak obscured her face from anyone watching the solemn wizards breaking the crisp scene with their footprints.  Snape sighed and then broke the silence, "Anne, what did you want to tell me when we came out here?"  Anne caught a snowflake on her black-gloved hand, "The past yet again- it is a bit of a memorable day, in a bad respect."  He watched wind whisk faster, carrying the still gentile snowfall in swirling circles in the air.  The heavy snowfall created a strong silence that seemed to blanket the entire world of Hogwarts, "Anne, I may not be able to be of any help to you in this, but feel free to speak all that you feel the need to- if it helps."  Anne let a smile flicker across her visage, "I understand- it just provides me with a small amount of comfort to know that there is someone else here who shares my past- who knows what I have been through and can relate."  She paused and let the snow fall gently on her outstretched hands, "Why did you leave him?  He offered us so much while in his service- security, a station in society that could only move up, money to buy all we would ever need, all the things we would need in out jobs to succeed and progress, and time to discover and develop our skills, along with anything else we could ever wish for, if we worked diligently and faithfully.  He offered us more than we could ask for, but we both left.  Why?" 

Snape stopped walking for a moment before beginning his story, "My reason is similar to yours in situation.  You know about what happened with my brother, Robert.  That event was the reason I left.  It wasn't only my brother who died that night- I also was responsible for the deaths of his wife and three children.  It was an easy task at first- neither of the parents made any fuss; the two older children went the same way.  Then I came to the youngest- she was six and looked so much like my dead sister, Vanessa.  I hesitated as she spoke, words I will never forget, 'Uncle Severus- Mum and Da' told me that you have done many bad things because you have been mixing with some bad men.  I know you will probably hurt me, but if you ever stop talking to the bad men, then I know I will forgive you from Heaven, 'cause you are my uncle and I love you.'  I can't believe I still cast that spell."  Severus sighed and stared off into the woods for a moment.  Then he continued with his story, "At that time I thought nothing of it, it was my job, nothing was to be thought of it.  Later in the week, things began to go awry in the Dark Arts.  All of our faults and failures were flung up in our face and I began to think that I had nothing in this world that would withstand the onslaught.  I began to think that if I had let her live, then there would be something to love me, give me hope.  I kept thinking about how much she had looked like Vanessa.  Vanessa had died when I was still here in Hogwarts- her heart was weak and there was nothing anyone could do for her.  She had been the one in the family who knew how to relate to me and we never fought between ourselves."

Anne stopped walking and slowly turned in to Severus, "I'm so sorry...I..." their eyes met, "If you will let me know you and call you friend, then I will love you as a friend would- that is, if you will let me be a friend."  He flinched as she took his cold hands in her warm gloves and gently squeezed them.  She smiled as he sighed and glanced over his shoulder to the school; he was uncomfortable in the silent stillness of the late morning.  Anne spoke as he turned his face back toward her, "Come on, let's get back inside before we catch cold or freeze to death."  Without another word they slowly turned to walk back to the castle.  She was still holding his hand when they reached the double doors.  She let go and carefully opened the doors and held them for him as he passed through and them.  Anne closed the doors as he waited for her on the other side.  Together they walked to the Dungeons and stood awkwardly outside the doors to their separate chambers.  Anne smiled, "Do you want to come in for hot chocolate?"  He shook his head, "No thank you."  Anne knocked on the door to her chambers and listened to Angel's little feet scamper to answer, "Where you been, Mum?"  Anne stopped as she heard her name called from behind her, "Anne?"  She turned to the source of the voice; Severus Snape.  "Thank you."  Anne smiled; she knew that she had cemented a friendship that would last far longer than her work in the Dark Arts had.  She nodded to him and beamed, "No problem."

She entered her room and closed the door behind her with a soft click.  Angel closed her photo album, "Mum, I've been thinking- it has been quite a while, and I can't bring them back, so let's just go get something sweet from the kitchens."  Anne raised an eyebrow, "After lunch- and what is this all about- you are grinning like the Cheshire cat!"  Angel's grin grew more mischievous, "I'm getting a little suspicious about you and Snape- you 'barely know him', eh?"  Anne blushed, "All right- we're friends- but that is all, little miss, got that?"  Angel continued her Cheshire cat grin, "Yeah Mum, whatever you say..."

The entire next week was devoted to the musical.  Her cast list was posted on the door to the Great Hall on Monday morning, and there was such a crush of students trying to read the sign that Hagrid was late for breakfast, as were Snape and McGonagall- incidences which were completely unprecedented.  Anne smiled as Severus sat down with a huff.  He was not pleased at the delay.  Anne anxiously awaited the beginning of class that day- rehearsals would begin.

Narrator:    Holli MacCumhail

Joseph:    Neville Longbottom

Jacob:    Ron Weasley

Potiphar:    Stewart Ackerly

Potiphar's wife:    Jadelyn Riddle (*cast later)

Pharaoh:    Lee Jordan

Butler:    Alicia Spinnet

Baker:    Ginny Weasley

Reuben:    Dean Thomas

Simeon:    Adrian Pucey

Levi:    Ernie MacMillan

Napthali:    Fred Weasley

Isaachar:    George Weasley

Asher:    Owen Cauldwell

Dan:    Draco Malfoy

Zebulun:    Goyle

Gad:    Crabbe

Benjamin:    Colin Crevey

Judah:    Stewart Ackerly

Wife 1:    Hermione Granger

Wife 2:    Ginny Weasley

Wife 3:    Susan Bones

Ishmaelite 1:    Hermione Granger

Ishmaelite 2:    Susan Bones

Ishmaelite 3:    Blaise Zabini

Chorus:    Jadelyn Riddle, Lee Jordan, Alicia Spinnet, Ginny Weasley, Susan Bones, Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, Hannah Abbott, Elenore Branstone, Cho Chang, Mandy Brocklehurst

As with any show, the first day of rehearsal was quite a zoo.  No one really knew what they were doing, either vocally or in the realm of acting.  Anne sighed after the hour was up and stood up on her desk, "Hey, attention to you all- go to the dorms tonight and here is your homework:  read through the entire script, figure out when you are onstage as chorus and/or character, highlight your lines, and then get familiar with your part.  If you want to read the actual story of Joseph, it is in the Bible around the 30th chapter of Genesis.  Go and rest up for tomorrow.  If you have questions, feel free to ask me.  Catch you at dinner!"

That night at dinner there was a bit of an excitement among the teeming masses of students.  Rumours stated that there might be a new student coming to Hogwarts.  Before the meal started, Albus rose and the room fell silent, "Ladies and gentlemen, as you have probably heard, there will be a new student beginning her studies her at Hogwarts tomorrow.  Her name is Miss Jadelyn Riddle," Snape twitched while Harry, Hermione, and Ron all made eye-contact.  Anne decided to ask Snape about the new student later, Albus continued, "Miss Riddle will be entering as a seventh year and has been sorted into Slytherin house.  She is currently dealing with the paper work and hassle that the Ministry is so experienced at giving.  I am expecting that you all will give Miss Riddle a warm welcome as she begins her time her at Hogwarts."  Albus sat down and dinner began.  Anne decided to wait until after dinner to bring the subject of Miss Riddle up with Severus- he was in what would be classified as a good mood for him and Anne did not wish to spoil this rare occasion.

After the meal Anne headed for her chamber to work on her plans for the next day's rehearsals.  On her way out of the Great Hall she was stopped by Angel, "Mum?  Can I spend the evening with Harry and company?"  Anne smiled as the inseparable trio joined Angel, "Oh, why not?" the four kids cheered, as they turned to leave, Anne shouted after them, "Be home by 10:00 and don't be outside any later than between 8:30 and 9:00!"  Angel disappeared into the crowd with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.  Anne began to make her way toward home when she heard a voice from behind her call out, "Miss Schetzek?"  Anne turned to face her addresser and discovered that it was Albus, "Miss Schetzek, if you wouldn't mind coming to my office, there is some business I would like to discuss with you concerning Miss Riddle."

Anne followed Albus up to his office and she patiently waited for the old wizard to speak.  He sat down behind his desk and gestured for her to seat herself in a large chair opposite him, "Miss Schetzek, I think there is something about Miss Riddle that you should know.  She has been home schooled for the past six years of her wizardry education, so she is entering as a seventh year.  She may need to take some of the classes that the younger students need to take, depending on the strengths of her tutor.  She is incredibly powerful, that I could see in her demonstrations that she showed me to assure me that she was capable in her craft.  The fact that I believe that you should know about Miss Riddle is that her father is Tom Riddle, now known as Voldemort."

Anne sat in shock for a second, "Who has she been living with?"  Albus smiled, "She has been living with her grandfather and her mother.  Her grandfather taught her all she knows- his name is Nigel.  It is unlikely that you will hear her refer to her family, but if she does, I thought that you should be forewarned," he could see that there was another concern in her eyes and he guessed it perfectly, "Yes, Anne, Severus is aware of this fact.  Do not worry, he has had contact with her family before and knows how to deal with Miss Riddle.  I have heard that she tends to play a few pranks now and then, but nothing that will hurt anyone.  She is rather solitary, but I did give her your name for someone to contact if she has problems adjusting."  Anne smiled, "I'll take care to meet her as soon as possible and help her get settled in.  I am sure that she will get along just fine here."  Albus could tell that Anne was a bit nervous having the daughter of Voldemort at the school, but he was sure that her fears would soon be put to rest when she met the new student.

February eleventh came and Anne was surprised to see a young woman with waist length black hair standing outside of her classroom, waiting for her to open the room before class.  Anne smiled at the girl dressed all in black, her pale skin contrasting heavily with her chosen garb.  Her pale lips parted and she addressed Anne, "Hello, I was told by Minerva that you are teaching soon."  Anne smiled, the girl's voice was low and gentle as she spoke and Anne wondered immediately if she sang.  Anne extended her hand, "I do.  I presume that you are Miss Jadelyn Riddle?"  The girl nodded, "Yes, I am.  Albus told me that you knew about my father and that you would be able to help me here?"  Anne laughed and opened the door, "Albus told you about my little history- I can help you adjust and get settled in here.  This place is quite different from what you may expect; we are all quite the family here."  Jadelyn entered the room after Anne and looked around the welcoming classroom, "Where should I sit?"  Anne pointed to five seats throughout the classroom that were usually vacant.  Then she pointed to the back corner, "If you prefer to sit apart from the others and then move up, or just to sit apart from them for whatever reason, that desk in the corner can be used too- go ahead and turn it around so that you can sit behind it and still see the front of the classroom."  Jadelyn moved to the back of the room and set her things on the desk in the corner.  Anne walked back to Jadelyn and together the two women turned around the mahogany desk.  Jadelyn slid behind it and smiled, "Yes, this will suit me wonderfully, thank you Miss Schetzek."  Anne walked to the front of the classroom and pulled a notebook out of a drawer in her desk, "Miss Riddle, do you sing?"  Jadelyn tipped her head slightly to the side, "That depends on what you need sung."  Anne handed her the one remaining part from 'Joseph' and the chorus booklet, "This class is putting on the Broadway production of 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'.  I need the part of Potiphar's wife sung, and you would be a chorus member when not onstage, if you wish to sing that role."  Jadelyn nodded, "I am somewhat familiar with the musical and anyway, Nigel read the story of Joseph to me when I was six."  Anne sighed happily, "Well, how about you try it out during class today, we are rehearsing, and if you like it, then you can have the part, no question about it."  Jadelyn nodded, "Miss Schetzek, I believe we have a deal."  Anne shook Jadelyn's extended hand, "Amen!  By the way, you can call me Anne- there is no need for formality here!"

The students began to filter into the classroom, many of them whispering amongst themselves about the silent, black clad girl in the back corner.  Before she began teaching, Anne addressed her class, "Many of you here have probably already met or seen our new student, but just in case you haven't, be sure to make Miss Riddle feel comfortable here.  Today we will be beginning our intense rehearsals that will last through this week and then on weekends after that until we present the show in March.  We will be doing one show, so it had better be astounding.  Everyone needs to take out their music and get ready to rehearse Act one." 

The rehearsal seemed to be moving a bit slowly until Jadelyn stepped up to fill in the part of Mrs. Potiphar.  She took the stage by storm with her one sung line, but it was not simply her voice which filled the room, she had an undisputed stage presence that stated, 'this is my place.'  Anne loved it and each time that Jadelyn sang with the chorus it sounded fuller, clearer, and everything began to fall into place.  After class, Jade vanished from the classroom before anyone could comment on her influence.  Anne stood by herself at the head of the classroom as it emptied with a feeling of elation rising.  The play would definitely be a hit.

Later that day, Angelique was walking back from Professor McGonagall's office when she heard a voice coming from behind her, "So, little girl, where do you think you're going?"  It was Goyle.  Crabbe quickly came around in front of her as Draco came beside her, "You crossed the line the other day with that little fiddling stunt."  Crabbe and Goyle closed in and pulled the angrily defiant child to a corner.  Crabbe lifted her off her feet and began to tough-talk to her, threatening her over and over while Goyle stood by and attempted to look like he was strong.  Draco nodded at everything they said and acted like a Mafia boss, quietly observing everything his men did.  Angelique maintained her defiant yet unafraid attitude, no one messed with a LeFay and got away with it, especially a LeFay who was descended from the Lady Morrighan herself, Don Dorcha, Finn MacCumhail, and Queen Mab!  No one noticed a silent, black clad woman drifting in behind them.  She shoved Draco aside, and, with her long black hair flying around her, struck like a scorpion at Crabbe.  He whirled around and stared into her cold grey eyes as she addressed him, a deadly authority hanging in her low voice, "Leave the child alone."  He tried to shove past her, but with a whisk of her hand he had crashed into the far wall.  She turned to Goyle who stood still as a statue in her way.  He soon found himself sliding across the hall on his back.  Draco stood by with a look plastered on his face that asked the woman, 'how dare you?'  He said nothing, but she read his expression perfectly, "I would beware what you say next, Mr. Malfoy."  Draco looked stunned, "How do you know my name?  I only saw you in Anne's class, and she calls me Draco....  And what do you mean by 'I should beware what I say next?  You don't scare me, my father-"  She cut him off, "Your father is nothing to me.  I know your name because I know your father's business, and I know that my father owns your father's soul."  Draco's visage became puzzled and he spoke with a hesitant awe, "Your father...what?"  She smiled, "You know my name.  I am Jadelyn Adelaide Vanessa Riddle.  Go and find out who my father is, then tell me if I am wrong."  Jadelyn turned her attention to Angel, "Little one, let's get you were you need to go."  Angel took Jadelyn's hand, "I was heading to Mum's chamber in the dungeons when these idiots jumped me.  I suppose that is where I need to go.  My name is Angelique Marie LeFay!  By the way, how did you do that, fling them around and all?  That was so wicked!  Can you teach me?"  Jadelyn laughed at the barrage of questions, "We'll see about that.  Who is your mum?"  Angelique grinned as she happily danced alongside Jadelyn, her red locks bouncing with the rhythm of her step, "M' Mum is Anne Schetzek, she teaches about Muggle stuff.  She's probably not in the classroom anymore, so let's go to our chambers.  They are in the dungeons."  Jadelyn nodded, "All right, I had your mum's class today.  Where in the dungeons do you live?"  Angel answered, "Next to the Potions lab."  Jadelyn sighed, "Oh, O.K., let's get you home then, shall we?"

Together the two girls walked to the Dungeons, Angel singing and skipping the entire time while she nearly dragged Jadelyn along side her.  As they passed the Potions lab, the door nearly opened into Jadelyn.  She turned to the source of the disturbance and met the eyes of Professor Snape.  Angel stopped her dancing and stared; Jadelyn and Severus had the same expression on their faces, a look of anger at the distraction from their path paired with a look of curious, distant recognition.  Jadelyn shook her head, "Sorry Professor," she turned to Angel, "Come on, show me where your mum lives."

Angel flung open the door to the Schetzek chambers to find her mother sitting on the table with papers spread out everywhere, "Mum, I'm home!  And guess what?  Jade saved me from stupid ol’ Draco Malfoy's gang."  Anne sat up straight, "What were they doing now?"  Jadelyn softly closed the door and ushered Angel farther into the room, "Anne, the situation looked as though they were going to harm Miss LeFay.  I just did what I had to."  Anne nodded, "Well, thank you, Miss Riddle- Angel baby, why were they trying to hurt you?"  Angel shrugged, "I think it was because of the fiddle incident- anyway, one of the ugly idiots picked me up by the collar and pinned me to the wall while the other one provided moral support.  Draco looked like a mob boss, leaning on the wall all cocky and confident.  No one gets away with messing with a LeFay...no one!"  Anne smiled at her little girl, "Come here, love- don't worry, we will get detentions for the whole group of them- and if they deny it, well, no one messes with a Schetzek either!"  She hugged Angel and let the little girl join her on the table.  Angel clamoured onto Anne's lap and waved to Jadelyn, "Jade, thank you- you need to come over a lot and teach me about how you slammed those guys around, o.k.?"  Jadelyn laughed and turned toward the door, "Of course, milady.  I have to go and work on all my catch-up work."  Anne called out to her as she left, "Thank you Miss Riddle!"  Jadelyn turned around and grinned, "Call me Jade, after all, there is no need for formality here."

Friday was Valentines Day, and at Hogwarts, one could expect that it was not going to be a normal day.  Angel skipped through the halls singing snippets of old songs and amended songs from Ophelia's lines in Hamlet.  Anne wore black as usual and avoided any romantic themed events the entire day.  She discovered quite by accident that Professor Snape was doing the same thing.  She was sitting in her chambers, preparing for her classes when she heard his all too familiar voice shout through her wall, "SILENCE!  There will be none of these silly ideas of love potions in my class!"  Anne sighed; apparently he was not a romantic.  Half an hour later and she heard a nearly identical warning ring out over her soft playing of her Irish harp.  She let her hands fall from the strings and sighed, it would be most probable that her classroom would be quieter. 

During class that day she had her students continue working on the play.  At the end of the hour she found a little box of candy hearts on her desk, accompanied by a little note, "Just a little greeting to your class from an Angel and a Black Dragon.  After all, there is no need for formality here..."  Anne smiled mischievously; she knew who had put the little box on her desk.  She opened it and set it on the little phonograph table next to her desk, wondering which of her students would dare to take the candy.  She dismissed the class and slipped out of the classroom, leaving the key with Jade and telling her to lock up the room.  Half an hour later she returned to the room and, finding it locked, sought out Jadelyn.  She found the seventh year laughing with Angel in the Slytherin common room.  Anne sighed, "What on this earth are you two laughing about now?"  Jade controlled herself for a moment and managed to stammer, "Those candies- garlic!  So rich- Draco- two!!"  Anne was puzzled, "What does that mean?"  Angel caught her breath, "The candies on your desk were from Jade and I, we thought of it last night and she bought them off the Weasley twins, they were garlic- Harry, Hermione, and Ron all knew it was us- they saw us making the deal with the twins- and Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle each took two of them- you should have seen their faces!  That was priceless..."  Anne began to laugh, "What a pair you have become, and you have only known each other for what, three days?  This is going to be one long year..."

The weekend flew by, filled with musical rehearsals and planning for the next week.  The first two days of the week were spotless, with the students breaking from rehearsals and presenting their comparisons of dance methods.  On Wednesday, the spotlessness ended.  Anne was sitting in her room after lunch filing grades when she heard a resounding explosion which shook the floor beneath her emanating from the Potions lab.  For a few seconds afterwards there was nothing but silence.  Anne hurried next door.  The students were crawling up from the floor, a few of the braver students had ventured forward toward Snape's desk.  Anne moved through the students and finally a Ravenclaw second year told her what had happened, "We were sitting here watching Professor Snape mix a potion to soothe boils when his cauldron exploded.  We don't know why, or what happened to him- there was no warning."  Anne nodded and nearly ran to the front of the room where Snape would have been demonstrating.  She addressed the class, "All right- I want each and every one of you to report to the medical wing- I will be sure that Poppy sees all of you.  Class is dismissed for today.  Go now and have yourselves checked out so that you can be sure you have suffered no ill effects of this."  The students quickly vacated the room, leaving Anne apparently alone.  She kneeled behind the demonstrations desk and gently raised Severus' unconscious form to a sitting position.  She gently cradled him to her body, softly whispering to him under his breath, "Wake up, come on Severus, come on..."  He moaned as he began to come to; she stroked his hair and uttered soothing tones barely audibly.  She heard his door silently open and click shut; she froze, a voice began to speak, "Well, well, well, what have we here... a little mishap in the lab- what a pity..."  Anne sat paralysed, still holding a barely conscious Severus in a sitting position.  She knew that Severus was awakening, but she needed him to remain quiet.  She knew the voice; it was Eddwords, "What a surprise, you who are so careful," he mocked, "you slipped in your mixing and added the wrong bottle to your cauldron- and here I am to gloat to an empty room- and your dead body..."  Anne heard footsteps; Severus was drifting back to the unconscious.  Anne hid under the table and guided Severus under the desk with her.  A knock came at the door and it swung open; another voice joined the conversation, this one friendlier, “Eddwords...fancy finding you here!”  It was Albus; Anne sighed and waited, "Eddwords, leave- you are not here for any good."  Eddwords protested, "But I heard the explosion and ran here to see if anyone had been injured- I dismissed the class to the medical wing and am now attempting to find Professor Snape."  Albus held up his hand, "No other comments are wanted- leave."  Anne heard the door click shut; Albus walked to the desk and came around behind it to peer at Anne and Severus, "Let's wake him up, shall we?"  Anne nodded as Albus helped her manoeuvre Severus out from under the desk.  Albus chanted something under his breath and waved his wand over Severus' body and Severus began to awaken, groaning as Anne helped him to sit up on his own.  She left her arm around him, gently rubbing his back to soothe his obviously flustered soul.

The next four days seemed to go fairly smoothly, but everyone was still recovering from the shock of the accident in Professor Snape's class.  Albus reassured the entire student body that it was not Professor Snape's fault, and through the weekend Anne left little quotes of encouragement pinned to Severus' door.  Her rehearsals went off without hitches and Anne was beginning to work with students on the technical aspects of the theatre. 

On Monday Anne began a new unit in her class:  theatre.  She figured that it perfectly tied into the play which they were working on and they could perhaps gain inspiration by working with other musicals.  She began the session with The Phantom of the Opera, "Well, does anyone here today know anything about Broadway shows or musical theatre?"  Jade and Holli raised their hands, "O.K., does anyone here know the story of The Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux?  No, yes, maybe?"  Once again only Jade and Holli responded, Anne sighed, "Right- the story can be found in the text packet which you found on your desk when you got in here- your first assignment will be to read the text for Les Miserables for tomorrow- take a few minutes now to read the basic storyline of Phantom."  She let the students read the two page overview of the story and of the production's differences from the original plot, "Does anyone here know anything about the music composed for this production?  O.K., Jade and Holli, since you two seem to be the only ones here who know what I am talking about, you may have to help me out."  Anne pulled an audio tape out of her desk drawer and set it in the tape deck on her desk, "We will begin by listening to the music of this show- in case you did not get the memo I sent, class today is three hours long- much of it is listening to and then talking about each scene in this production.  The rest of the week will be set up the same."

And Anne spoke correctly; the rest of the week was spent listening to and discovering the stories and symbols of theatre.  On Tuesday Anne introduced her students to Les Miserables, on Wednesday to RENT, on Thursday to West Side Story, and on Friday they dove into Cats.  Outside of class, nothing unusual at all occurred until Thursday. 

On Thursday, Anne, Jade, and Angel were walking from dinner to the dungeons when they ran into Eddwords.  He was fuming while pacing the halls, muttering about Death Eaters at Hogwarts.  Jade stepped up close behind him, "What about the daughter of the Dark Lord, do you have a problem with me too?"  Eddwords spun around, "Miss Riddle, what are you doing down here?!  This area of the building is restricted."  Jade mocked, "It is restricted, oooh, scary!  Albus never told any of us that, did he ladies?"  Angel shook her head, "Never said a thing- you tell him sister, never said a thing!"  Anne laughed and shrugged.  Jade continued her protest with her arms crossed firmly over her chest, "So, since none of us recall this restriction, I suggest you get your face out of my way before I have to move you myself."  Eddwords sneered, "What are you going to do, cast on me?"  Jade grinned a grin that made Eddwords shiver, "Yes, Eddwords, I am going to cast on you, and this is one spell that you can't do a thing about."  Before Eddwords knew what had hit him, he found himself in a full body locked curse, unable to even move his lips in protest.  Jade grinned at Anne, "So, what do we do with our little pet now?"  Anne put her hands on her hips and was about to make a suggestion when Angel chirped, "Stick him in the girl's bathroom!"  Jade nodded, "Great idea, little lady- hold open the door while I drag him, and Anne, whatever happens, none of us did this, right?"  Anne let her own heart speak, "What?  Where?  Eddwords in the girl's bathroom?  That bastard- no, I hadn't heard..."  Her cocky grin taunted Eddwords as Jade shoved him under the sink, and, with a grin and a little wave, said, "See you later...."

That Friday Jade received a note from Albus Dumbledore- she had been called to meet with him.  She entered his office after classes and saw Eddwords sitting near the desk.  Jade sighed, she knew what was about to transpire.  To her surprise, the events did not flow as she had expected; she was not given any sort of punishment, but was dismissed by Albus saying that she was under stress about the accident in the Potions lab.

Saturday, Anne drifted over to the Potions lab, having not seen Professor Snape at lunch.  She knocked on the door and heard a gruff reply, "Who is it?"  She gently pushed the door open, peering around the corner into the room, "It's just me, Anne.  Can I come in for a moment?"  He sighed, "Yes Anne- close the door after you."  She made her way to the front of the room and leaned on his desk, "Are you O.K.?  The students are circulating some pretty evil rumours."  Severus nodded, "I heard; most of them have been conveniently stated just under the breath and near my desk."  Anne shook her head, "Idiots...don't they listen to the Headmaster when he says that even though he cannot say with whom the fault lies, it is not with you?"  Severus stopped scrawling comments on the test in front of him.  He sighed and set the pen down.  Anne stood behind him and gently rubbed his shoulders; to her surprise, he did not protest.  He leaned his arms on the desk and seemed to deflate with one giant sigh, his head lowering to rest on top of the stack of tests he was grading.  Anne moved beside him and rubbed his back, finally putting her arm around his shoulders and letting him just be in a state of nothingness.  Someone knocked on the door; he slowly pulled himself up and regained his hardened composure, "Anne, would you please get that?"  She nodded and with a soft smile let her arm fall back to her side and went to answer the door.  She greeted the students at the door, "Harry, Ron, Hermione, hello- what do you need?"  Ron spoke first, "We want to know what happened last week with the explosion; some other students are being really odd about it all."  Anne took a deep breath, "I can't tell you everything- Albus is not letting us divulge all the details, but what I can tell you is this; Severus is completely innocent.  Someone accessed the Potions lab and switched the contents of the vial which Severus was using."  Hermione looked puzzled, "Do you know who did it?"  Anne nodded, "Albus and I do indeed have a suspect, however it is not accessible information to you."  Harry grinned, "Thanks- we thought that it was something more than just an accident on his part, he's too careful to do that."  Anne tilted her head, "Anything else?"  They shrugged that they were done and left as Anne shut the door.  She returned to the desk and Severus addressed her, "There is a suspect?  Why did no one tell me?"  Anne sat on a desk, "Albus said that it would be best if we concealed the identity of our suspect so that word would not get out and so that you would not be tempted to take matters into your own hands.  It is for your own safety that we do this- trust me, if I was allowed to, I would have told you."  He went back to grading tests.  Anne tilted her head; someone was in the hall approaching the classroom on light feet.  She doubted that Severus could hear it.  A tentative knocking met their ears.  Anne smiled; she could tell by the little pattern that the guest was none other than her little Angel.  Anne turned to Severus, "Can she come in?  It's Angel- that I know for certain."  He nodded, "Come."  Angel drifted into the room, "Mum- what is going on; is everything O.K.?  I felt something through the walls."  She looked over at Professor Snape, "It was him."  Severus glanced up at Anne, "What is this?"  Anne nodded to Angel, "Go ahead and tell him, he will keep your secret for you."  Angel took a deep breath, "I have a gift that I can feel other people's emotions if they are strong enough.  I'm sorry that I read yours without you knowing, I can't help it; it just happens sometimes...don't be mad at me, please?"  Severus spoke seriously, "Do not worry, I will keep your secret safe, but I ask that you do not share what you have seen with anyone except your mother, who already knows."  Angel nodded and then continued talking, "Mom, we got called on the Eddwords incident number one- he told Albus.  Thankfully Albus dismissed it all as being provoked by the explosion, "Severus looked curious so Angel continued, "We, um, threw him in the girl's bathroom."  Anne could have sworn that a brief smile flickered across Severus' face, "Well, that's not so bad, is it?  At least you got away with it- who all was involved?"  Anne grinned as Angel recited the three names, "Me, and Jade, and Mum.  It was fun and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.  Another thing, I made a spoon turn into a butterfly and Crabbe killed it and said Professor Snape should be more careful before he was crushed too, so I decked him.  I think he is going to come to you, Professor Snape, and tell on me-"  The door flew open and there stood Crabbe, "Snape!  That little red-headed brat punched me!"  Professor Snape stood up and came face to face with Crabbe, "If you are not tough enough to take a hit from a child, then I believe that you have no right to whine to me about it.  Mr. Crabbe, grow up."  Crabbe protested, "But-"  Snape cut him off, "I will deal with Miss LeFay in my own time; you are to leave her alone."  Crabbe turned to leave with a cocky grin; Snape was not done talking, "Mr. Crabbe, the next time you want justice, I recommend that you do not say that the one you are coming to should be more careful before he is crushed."  Crabbe turned pale and quickly ran from the room.  Angel ran up to Professor Snape, "Thank you for not giving me detention yet."  Snape bent down to her, "Little Angel, you know that I should not let you get away with hitting him, but since your mother has done so much for me and I am not to fond of Crabbe anyway, how about you serve your 'detention' with your mother and I this Sunday evening by joining us for dinner in the Great Hall?"  Angel's face glowed, "You mean I get to sit at the front with all the teachers?"  Severus almost grinned, "I think so- don't you Anne?"  Anne nodded, "Hey, as long as we don't get in trouble for having her up there, I'm fine with it."

The rest of the day was spent in musical rehearsals, as was the majority of the day Sunday.  Angel excitedly donned her black robes overtop of her full black skirt and her black blouse- she wanted to look nice for her dinner with the teachers.  Angel proudly walked into the Great Hall with her mother, both of them clad in black.  Anne and her daughter held their heads high as they ascended the staircase up to the teacher's platform.  Snape had pulled an extra chair up between Anne and his seats and Angel plopped into it readily.  She gazed out at all the students in amazement, happy to be sitting between her mother and her neighbour.  Anne greeted Professor Snape and gracefully slid into her chair, not minding that she was a little crowded; after all, it's not often that a mother is blesséd by her child's presence at the Head Table for dinner!

The next week Anne decided that she would be teaching her class about the origins of the culture of the British Isles.  She began her class on Monday by asking her class to write a brief essay on what society they believed had originally inhabited the islands and then to discuss who had invaded and what society they were currently living in.  The week went on with Anne dating backwards from the Modern mix of peoples, Anglo-Saxon culture, the Anglo-Norman culture, and finally the Celtic society.  She briefly covered the previous and little known societies.  That weekend she was back to rehearsals. 

Monday, March tenth began Anne's unit on the Celts.  Angel had asked if she could sit in and help her mother teach the stories of her peoples.  On Tuesday they began studying music.  Angel brought in her fiddle; Anne, her harp; Hagrid, his flute; and to everyone's surprise, Jade showed up to class with a set of pipes.  Each person told a little about their instrument and then they played a short tune.  At the end of the class, Jade whispered something in Anne's ear.  Anne smiled and gathered the other instrumentalists together, "We are going to end this with Scotland the Brave, do you all know that?"  Everyone nodded and Anne counted off.  Halfway through the song, the door slit open.  At the end of the song it quietly clicked shut.

Anne arrived back at her room that day to find a scripted note pinned to her door, "Miss Schetzek, you play the harp wonderfully."  Anne smiled, there was only one person she knew that had that distinct handwriting but would have not left his name; Severus Snape.  That evening at dinner she handed him a folded square of paper.  He unfolded it and read, "Thanks!  You peeked in my classroom, didn't you?"

The next day Anne and Angel once again donned their Irish Step dancing garb and demonstrated storytelling through dance and country dancing.  On Thursday the little family shared their knowledge of the history of the Celts, most of the class being taught by an over-eager Angelique.  Friday would be fun; Anne had an ace up her sleeve and a few special plans for her mother.

Friday came and Anne entered her classroom only to find that it no longer looked like her classroom.  The desks were all lining the hall and her desk and phonograph table were pushed into the front left corner of the classroom.  Anne noticed that Jadelyn's desk was also pushed back into the corner, leaving the room incredibly open.  Angelique ducked into the room and surveyed the scene, "Well, Hagrid did a wonderful job here, don't you think so, Mum?"  Anne raised her eyebrows, "If you mean he cleared the room well, I would say he did a stellar job with that.  The only question is why?"  Angelique grinned, "Why Mum, what is a better way to end a week of Celtic studies than with a Ceildhe?"  Anne looked sceptical, "And how do you plan on pulling this off?"  Angelique shrugged, "I play fiddle, Jade plays pipes, Holli plays fiddle, accordion, dances, and sings, Winky agreed to bring up food, in fact, here the house elves come now, and the room is our dance floor.  That is how I plan to pull this off- oh, and don't be surprised if some of the staff shows up, I was asking them questions about the logistics of this all week."  Anne stepped back as Winky and a train of house elves loaded the desks up with food and drink and the band gathered in the room to begin playing before the event began.

The students walked into the classroom as the band began to play a casual reel.  The seemed to be confused until Minerva McGonagall entered the room with Hagrid and the both of them began to laugh and dance.  Other staff members began to file in and the party was soon in full swing, with only Draco and his gang being wallflowers.  Jadelyn set down her pipes and winked at Angel, "Play something spirited- I'll be right back."  Jadelyn danced her way across the room and dragged Draco, to his surprise and the surprise of the other students, onto the dance floor.  He began to protest and Jadelyn retorted, "You'll only waste your life away if all you do is stand against the wall and watch it happen to everyone else; now shut up and dance."  So he did, it wouldn't have paid for him to try to argue with Jadelyn anyway.

Halfway through the hour, Professor Snape appeared in the doorframe.  From the front desk, Anne noticed him standing there, looking rather out of place.  She made her way around the band and greeted him.  He nodded back and Anne continued, "Would you come in and join us?  There's food aplenty and the dancing is merry."  With a slight shake of his head he declined her invitation, "No thank you- may I speak to you for a moment?"  Anne nodded, "Of course- in the hall?"  He nodded and they stepped out of the joyful Ceildhe.

Once in the hall, Snape asked Anne, "What exactly is this Ceildhe?  Angelique invited everyone she could think of, but I am not sure that many knew what they were getting into."  Anne let a gentle grin creep across her face, "She has a tendency to speak in her own terms and forget that we don't always understand her.  A Ceildhe is a very old Celtic tradition where the people of the town or community, or whoever else happens to hear about it, gather together in one place to sing, dance, eat, and share stories.  Really a Ceildhe is the old way of gathering everyone and bonding them together.  Usually, in Éire where many Ceildhe's take place, everyone knows everyone else at the Ceildhe and it is held at a local pub, or at the barn or house of the host family.  I went to a few while I was running- they were fun and the entire community would then help Angel and I hide- we would move from house to house and effectively evade any pursuers that we were particularly concerned about."  Snape nodded, "I see.  I also heard Angel mentioning that her birthday is coming up- when is that?"  Anne looked back into the room and watched her little girl begin a rousing reel, "She is a Saint Patrick's child- her birthday falls on his Day.  She likes to claim that the date helped her to be more 'Celtic' than she would have been had she been born on another day."  Snape nodded, "Well, I had better let you get back to your Ceildhe, best luck on Joseph this Sunday."  He turned on his heels and left down the hall, back to the darkness of the dungeons; Anne returned to the Ceildhe.

Sunday the sixteenth came sooner than Anne would have expected.  She helped her students get into costume and makeup and then ran to check on her stage crew.  Everything was running on schedule, until Holli discovered that she was losing her voice; Holli was supposed to be narrating.  Jadelyn proposed a solution, "Here, if you wish, I can take the narration and you can have the lines of Mrs. Potiphar.  The chorus is fine without either of us, and this way you only have to sing one line."  Holli eagerly agreed and dove into the script to make sure that she really did know everything there was to know about the part of Mrs. Potiphar.  The rest of the cast was a bit nervous; Jadelyn had never practiced the narrator's role.

The curtain rose and Jade waited for her musical cue,

The show went on.

By the end of Act One, the crowd was cheering wildly; no one had expected that Neville Longbottom would sing the role of Joseph so well.  Act Two progressed without a hitch and ended with a standing ovation and two additional curtain calls for the cast and crew.  They were overjoyed and Anne was exceptionally proud of her students.  After the last curtain call, Holli held all the cast on stage for a moment; the audience simmered down and Holli addressed them, "We did not come this far on our own- the students you see up here made up the cast and crew of this production, but there is someone else who deserves credit for the beauty of our work.  This person trained us from theatre illiterates into technically and acting savvy artists of the stage; she spent hours with us in rehearsals making sure that we could run the show on our own once it came time to reveal it to the world.  I would like to ask that Miss Annelise Schetzek please come forward."  Anne was a bit surprised, but she walked up to the stage and took her place next to Holli.  The room erupted in cheers and screams; Anne was certain she even saw Severus standing as the curtain fell.

The next day was Monday, March seventeenth; Angel's birthday and Saint Patrick's Day.  Anne's classroom had been set back to rights and as the students each took their seats, Anne played her harp.  They all settled into their desks, Anne stopped her playing, and then she addressed the class, "Well, yesterday was one of the most spectacular days I have had in my entire life.  Today is a day of vocal rest and relaxation for you all- a chance to catch up on your homework or studying that you may have neglected due to the chaos of the weekend.  Have a productive hour please, and if you need help, I am here."

That evening, Angel and Anne sat together at the Gryffindor table for dinner.  Angel happily chattered about her day and how she had managed to get Minerva McGonagall to have the Transfiguration class that Angel had sat in with sing 'Happy Birthday' to her.  Angel told everyone at the table that she was now nine years old and that she was very glad that she was one year closer to enrolling in Hogwarts for real.  After dinner, Anne and Angel went back to their chambers.  Angel opened the door to find Hagrid had beaten them there; Anne winked at Hagrid who then left the room on 'business'.  Angel plopped into a chair and nearly began to read her Defence Against the Dark Arts when into the room walked Minerva, Albus, and Hagrid.  Hagrid was carrying a birthday cake with nine candles on it while the others sang 'Happy Birthday to Angel.  She was overjoyed and blew out all her candles in one big breath.  Everyone sat at the large table as Anne pulled a little package out of her sea chest and handed it to Angel.  Angel eagerly tore off the wrappings and revealed a Celtic prayer book that Anne had found in an antique shop during their travels.  She tilted her head to the side, "Wait here a sec," and darted out the door.  Anne was puzzled until she heard Angel's voice through the walls, "Professor Snape!  Look what Mum got me for my birthday!  You should come next door too!  Dumbledore, and Minerva, and Hagrid are all there and we are gonna have cake and it looks so yummy that you should come and help us eat it all!"  There was silence for a moment, and then Angel appeared in the door, followed by a tired Professor Snape.  She pulled out a chair for him next to Anne, "Sit here!"  He did not argue, rather sat down quietly.  They sat and talked while Anne served cake and Angel told everyone about how this was one of her first proper birthdays that she could remember.  The last few had been spent in various places around England and Éire.  It was nearly nine o'clock before Albus, Minerva, and Hagrid left the room.  At that time, Severus also rose to leave.  Angel made sure to thank all her guests before they left.  She thanked Professor Snape last, giving him a hug and telling him that she was very glad that he had decided to help her celebrate her birthday.

The next day Anne found a little note from Jade pinned to her door, "Anne- I would like to give Angel a kitten for her birthday- is this acceptable to you?"  Anne showered, dressed, and met Jadelyn at breakfast, "Jade, go ahead- I think that it would be very encouraging for my little Angel- she is ready to care for another creature; she helped take care of me while we were on the road."  Jade grinned broadly, "Thank you, Anne.  I will see you in class today and then I will come by your chambers this evening to wish Angel her happy, slightly belated, birthday."

That day in Anne's class they began to talk about classical folk tales.  Anne addressed her students, "Is there anyone in here who was raised in the old manner of passing stories and legends down the family line?"  Holli and Jadelyn both raised their hands.  Anne continued, "Do either of you know the old story of Lusmore and the Fairies of Knockgrafton Hill?"  Holli and Jade both nodded.  Anne grinned, "All right, I want Holli to tell this one, Jade- do you know the tale of the three sisters for whom Ireland was named?"  Jade nodded and Anne pointed at her, "Good, because I would like you to tell it to us on Friday; Holli, let 'er rip!"

Holli began her story, "Once, long ago in the little town of Cappagh there lived a basket maker named Lusmore.  Lusmore had a hump on his back that bent him nearly to the ground, but nevertheless, he was the best basket maker that the county had seen in years.  On day Lusmore took his baskets to the town of Cahir, as he has always done, and he sold everyone of them.  He was tired from his long day and stopped to rest at the crest of Knockgrafton Hill.  Before long, Lusmore thought that he could hear music; he listened closer, and sure enough, there were words drifting from somewhere.  They went, "Monday, Tuesday, Monday, Tuesday…”. over and over again.  Lusmore looked around the hill, but there was no one there who was singing the lovely tune, so he figured it would have to be coming from inside the hill.  It was said in those days that the Tuatha De Dannan lived within the hills as the fairy folk, so this did not seem odd to Lusmore, if only they would change their song!  Lusmore thought that he could help them out; he sang, "Monday, Tuesday, Monday, Tuesday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday!"  With a fluttering of the air, Lusmore found himself face to face with a tiny man.  The little man spoke, "Lusmore!  I am the king of the Tuatha De Dannan; your song has delighted my people!  We are feasting; you must come and join us and sing our song with your new word!"  Lusmore insisted that his singing was not nearly as lovely as that of the fairies, but the king was persistent.  Lusmore was whisked in a wind and found himself inside the great hill in a grand hall filled with the fairy people, children of the great Lady Danu.  The fairies delighted in hearing him sing their song and they joined him in singing it as soon as they had caught on.  The king stood up and addressed his people, "Fellow Tuatha!  Lusmore has given us a great gift- we shall give him one in return!  Men, come forward and take this fine fellow's hump from his back!"  Four warriors stepped forth and lifted Lusmore's hump from his shoulders.  When Lusmore stretched his full height he found that he was tall enough to brush the top of the cavern with the sprig of foxglove in his hat.  The fairies gave him a fresh suit of clothes and as soon as he had changed, they continued their feasting.  Lusmore fell into sleep late that night in the halls of the fairy king.  The next morning came and Lusmore found himself sitting in the same place where he had first heard the fairy song.  He believed the entire thing to have been a dream until he stood up and found his back as straight as the oak and his old clothes folded beside him.  He returned to Cappagh and no one there believed their eyes- Lusmore the basket maker was tall and handsome as the ash in the wood.  He continued making his baskets, telling the people what had happened.  Naturally, as these things tend to go, his name became known for miles into the countryside.  One day an old woman appeared at his door.  She asked him if she had found Lusmore, and if so, what the secret had been to his hump being removed.  You see, her son also had a hump, but Jack Madden, as he was named, was not a good hearted soul like Lusmore; he was lazy and arrogant.  His mother left him in the wheelbarrow that she had brought him in at the top of Knockgrafton Hill.  Soon enough, Jack heard the fairy song, "Monday, Tuesday, Monday, Tuesday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday!"  Jack thought to himself, "Well, if one day got Lusmore a straight back and a set of clothes, let's see what two can get Jack!"  The fairy song continued, "Monday, Tuesday, Monday, Tuesday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday!"  Jack shouted his add-on, "THURSDAY AND FRIDAY!"  With a rush of wings, Jack found himself in the hall surrounded by angry fairies.  The king spoke, "Jack Madden, Jack Madden, your words are so bad in, your life we will sadden, two humps for Jack Madden!"  The four fairy warriors groaned and lifted Lusmore's hump from the floor and pressed it on to Jack Madden's back.  They deposited him in his wheelbarrow at the top of the hill where Jack's mother found him in the morning.  He refused to tell her what had happened so she wheeled him home in silence.  The lesson one is to learn from this tale?  Respect the fairy people, for they are the mighty Tuatha De Dannan and have powers not of this world."

Anne smiled, "Holli, wonderful job.  Everyone else, pull out a sheet of paper- let's see how well you were listening."  After a few groans of disapproval, Anne began to question her students,

"One- what was the basket maker's name?

Two- how was he afflicted?

Three- where did he hear the song?

Four- what did he do that the fairy king was so pleased about?

Five- what did the fairy king do in return for the basket maker?

Six- where did the basket maker find himself in the morning?

Seven- why did the woman come to his door?

Eight- what was the name of her son?

Nine- what happened after her son added his shout to the fairy song?

Ten- what was the moral of this story?

Now you may all hand your papers forward.  This should have been a fairly easy quiz for all of you- it was only difficult if you did not pay attention to Holli.  Your scores will be handed back to you tomorrow, class is dismissed!"

That evening, Jadelyn knocked on Anne and Angel's door to be greeted by little Angelique herself.  Jade entered the room carrying a bundle wrapped like a baby.  She handed it to Angel, "Happy birthday, Angelique."  Angel peeked in the bundle at a tiny orange kitten sleeping soundly, "For me?!"  Jade nodded; Angel jumped ecstatically, "Oh thank you Jade!  Mum- Jade gave me a kitten!  Oh me oh my- what oh what a great surprise!"  Jade and Anne laughed with Angel as she danced around the room with joy.  A knock came on the door; Angel answered it and surprised Professor Snape by proudly and enthusiastically stating, "Jade gave me a kitten!  What do you need?"  Anne bustled over to the door, "Angel- go and play with your little friend- she is waking up!"  Angel was over by the kitten in a heartbeat and Anne could talk to Professor Snape, "Severus, what do you need?  Angel is just a bit excited if you are concerned about the noise- I apologize."  He nodded, "That was exactly what I was wondering about," turned on his heels, and left.  Anne sighed, someday she would get him to open up completely, but that would take a long time.

Wednesday and Thursday Anne lectured on the Finnian Cycle and the Morrighan tales.  Friday was Jade's day to tell the story, "They had conquered the land we now call Ireland, the next great race had entered to rule the glens and vales.  They first encountered Badu, youngest of the sister queens.  She stunned them with her grace and they asked her if there was one thing that they could do for her.  She responded that she would like the land named after her, and so it was- for a while the land was named for Badu.  The next sister they encountered was the eldest; fair Danu, her beauty was renowned in all the lands.  They asked her too what she would want from them as the new dwellers in the land, and she answered the same, that she would have the land named after her.  The land, therefore, was named for the fair Danu for a time.  Then they came across the middle sister, who was both graceful and fair, yet her name was out-sung by the praises sung to her sisters.  She was very just, and the new people of her land asked her yet the same question, and she asked that the land be named for her.  She helped the newcomers to settle in her land and she taught them wisdom long spoken of in her realm.  She gave them kindness and in return they made her the High Queen over both the physical realm and the spirit realm, calling her their goddess and lady.  To this day it is after her that we call her land Ireland and all her people rejoice in hearing her name, her song, and in seeing her rolling emerald hills.”

Anne thanked Jade and then returned her attention to her students, "You know what to do- get out a sheet of paper and we'll have ourselves a little quiz.

First off- what was the name of the first sister?

Second- what was her hailed trait?

Third- what was the name of the second sister they encountered?

Fourth- what was her hailed trait?

Fifth- what was the name of the third sister they encountered?

Sixth- what was her trait?

Seventh- what did she teach the newcomers?

Eighth- over what did they make her ruler?

Ninth- what is the name of the land according to the last time Jadelyn referenced it by name?

Tenth- of all the stories that you have heard this week, which one has been your favourite?

Hand in your quizzes.  Class dismissed!"

On Saturday, Anne and Angel were fencing in the Great Hall when Jadelyn entered the room, "Anne- tomorrow, here- I challenge you to a sabre duel."  Anne grinned, "Good luck kid."  Jade let her cocky little smile appear, "I should say the same for you."

Sunday, March twenty-third:  Jadelyn Adelaide Vanessa Riddle and Annelise Marrion Schetzek were followed to the Great Hall by a train of spectators for the fencing tournament.  Jade had her black padded garb while Anne's was white.  Each of them saluted their opponent, the officiator (Angelique), and then put on their masks.  "Fencers ready?" asked Angelique, the two opponents nodded, Angel smiled, "All right, fence!"  The bout had begun.  Within ten seconds Anne had scored a touch.  Jade took right of way and scored against Anne.  They both lunged at the same time and had to reset their positions.  Anne advanced, but Jade's speed was exceptional and she attacked to Anne's head.  Anne parried and reposted to Jade's left side, Jade blocked that attack and scored on Anne's right side.  Anne came back to score against Jade in the next five seconds of the bout.  There was merely one point left to be scored, and it was the game point.  Anne advanced in to Jade, who retreated but then returned with a point attack.  Anne parried the attack and lunged into Jade.  Jade successfully dodged the attack to her side and took a ballestra into a retreating Anne.  The step gave her the perfect spacing for an attack to the head.  Anne parried, reposted to Jade's side, Jade blocked the strike, but Anne did not move quick enough to block Jade's answer to the attack.  Jade had scored the final point against Anne and had won the bout.  Both women removed their masks and shook hands.  The spectators cheered for both contenders and later everyone agreed that they would have to rematch someday to see if Anne could beat Jade.

Anne transitioned the next week from folklore to fairy tales.  Monday they talked about the purpose of the stories and their originations.  Tuesday they studied Snow White.  On Wednesday, Anne taught her students about Cinderella and had the students begin to speculate on what could have happened next.  After class, Anne was walking to her lodging when she ran into Eddwords muttering about how Death Eaters were going to take over Hogwarts and what the world was coming to.  She shook her head and changed her course to the Great Hall.  She darted into the silent Hall and enchanted an MP3 player she had in her pocket to play classical dances.  She closed her eyes and began to dance with an imaginary partner through the rows of tables and up to the edge of the Head Table.  She drifted up the stairs and danced behind the Head Table where there was more space.  With her eyes closed she let her mind drift.  She shut out all that Eddwords had ever said to her and let her mind float back to the days when it would have been just she and Angel dancing together in a vacant church in the middle of the week, their laughter echoing through the arched ceilings and vaults.  She sighed as a single tear rolled down her cheek- she missed the days of just her and her Angel.  Anne did not hear the nearly silent click of the door closing or the soft footfalls that approached the platform.

Severus Snape leaned on Slytherins table and watched Anne in silence- it was odd to watch her without her knowing it- she was usually extremely alert as to who was doing what around her.  She seemed to be in another world, "Perhaps it is better than this one." he thought.  In a moment, Severus found himself speaking aloud, "Do you want to dance with a real partner?"  "Oh blast it all- I didn't really want to say that..."  She turned to him in surprise, "Oh!  Professor, I'm sorry, I didn't see you come in- um, sure.  Here, I can set this music thingy here on the table and turn it way up so we can both hear it."  He shook his head, "How about not?"  She cocked her head to the side, "No music?" he nodded; she continued, "Oh, O.K.- I can do that..."  He came up the stairs and stood in front of her; there was an awkward silence which Anne broke, "So, what are we waiting for?"  She tentatively took his hand in hers and placed her other hand on his shoulder.  They began to slowly waltz around the platform; Anne spoke, "What brings you here anyway?  It's not like you to be anywhere but in the Potion's Lab or in Slytherin house."  He sighed, "That blasted Eddwords..."  Anne scoffed, "Let me guess, he has been saying things like, 'You would be better of back with You-Know-Who,' and, 'You should give up teaching and take up running," and, 'Death Eaters at Hogwarts- you know the end is coming when...,' and his current favourite, 'They are just trying to corrupt the students into He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's service- the only thing we can do is faithfully study our Defence Against the Dark Arts.'"  Severus picked up the speed of the waltz by a bit, "How do you know all that?"  She raised and eyebrow, "Seriously, he's been dropping those lines whenever he walks by me- I knew that he would be doing the same to you too."  Severus decided to take the conversation in a new direction, "Where is Angelique?"  Anne grinned; talking about her daughter always made her feel a bit better, "She is off with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Jadelyn.  Speaking of Jadelyn, she is quite a character- bright, but quite a character."  He shook his head, "Miss Riddle is a handful in my class."  Anne tilted her head, letting her loose hair fall over her shoulder, "Really?  She isn't in mine- she is brilliant in nearly every subject that seems to have come up so far, but she keeps to herself mostly.  The only time I ever saw her interact with another student by choice was once on the way out of the classroom when she shoved Draco into the doorframe and sarcastically apologized- then again, he had called her a Mudblood at the beginning of class- he really should have seen it coming, after all, when Jadelyn promises she will make someone eat their words or she will make someone pay, she is very faithful to that promise."  Severus hmpf'ed, "I have noticed her abrasive tendencies- that she was genetically doomed to inherit.  She reminds me of Vanessa."  Anne was curious, "How so?"  He continued, "The mannerisms she has, the way she speaks with that low, even voice that seems to be able to switch from a challenge to a friendship in an instant, her build, her face, she just looks like Vanessa- except for her hair- 'Nessa's hair was the same colour as yours; hers was a curly mess most of the time."  Anne smiled, "It sounds like your sister was a wonderful woman- I would have liked to meet her.  What did you mean when you said that Jadelyn was genetically doomed to inherit her attitude?  Do you know her family?  She won't talk about them."  He glanced heavenward, "I know her family far to well- her father- you know about him, correct?"  Anne nodded; he resumed his tale, "Well, her mother is... my younger sister Adelaide.  To paint you a picture of Adelaide, take Jadelyn's frame, attach a face that is all too often painted, bleached and wave-permed hair, clothing that would put most streetwalkers to shame, and an attitude that says she would rather be out partying than having anything to do with magic, and you have Adelaide.  Only Jadelyn's grandfather knows how Jadelyn turned as well as she did, rather than ending up a Death Eater in a miniskirt."  Anne let that sink in, "Wow- I didn't realize that you had a younger sister, or that your father had raised Jadelyn.  What a life she has had...so neither of her parents really ever was around, just your father?”  Severus nodded, "From what I gather, that is true- she doesn't really acknowledge me as family though- I can only guess what Adelaide has told her- my little sister never did care too much for me."  Anne felt a curiosity rising in her, "I wonder if Jade has ever met her father..."  Severus was quick to answer, "When Nigel, my father, first wrote to Albus about Jadelyn beginning her schooling here, he added in that Jadelyn had only met her father just this past summer and that she had felt little connection to him, treating him rather coldly instead.  I also gather that the meeting was Adelaide’s idea.  Jadelyn did tell me one thing; that she was glad that her father had been without form for the last fifteen years so she did not have to see his face around the house, and, as a part of that, she never wanted to talk to her father again."  Anne sighed, "And I thought having him as an employer was hard- think about the cloud that will follow her wherever she goes- she is the daughter of Voldemort.  That must play quite a role in her life, even if she doesn't acknowledge the fact.  I still am mystified that she took to Angelique so readily- she doesn't seem to be the type who would be fond of children."  Severus nearly smiled, "Speaking frankly, I don‘t seem to be the type either, but Angelique is different- she is still a child in her form, yet she is wise far beyond her years- wiser than some adults ever become in their entire lifetime."  They stopped dancing- Severus led Anne to sit on the edge of the Head Table and he settled beside her.  Anne gazed at a floating candle near her, "I guess then she and Angel are really quite similar- both of them are orphans taken in by those who saw their fall and wanted to raise them up.  They reacted differently to it, but I think that Jade looks to Angel to reclaim a childhood that she feels was lost, and Angel looks to Jade to give her wisdom voice- not many people look to a child and realize that she is gifted if she is still young.  It is a remarkable friendship between two seemingly opposites who are really the same at heart."  There was a silence between them.  Anne thought, "I wonder if he realizes that I just described us..." while at the same time Severus was thinking, "I wonder if she realizes that she just described our relationship..."  Without knowing what the other was thinking, Anne and Severus' gazes met for a moment, before Anne turned away and blushed slightly- she didn't want him to know what she was thinking, "What am I doing?  I just thought that I saw him staring at me- that can't be...I know this seems nearly surreal- I have a confident here who I can call friend, and I think that I catch him staring at me...I have got to stop reading into things- he was just glancing over at me, just as I was doing- God knows I hope he doesn't think I was staring at him..."  Ironically enough, Severus was thinking nearly the same thing, "Oh dear- I hope that she doesn't think that I was staring, though I wonder if that is what she was doing...heaven knows she is lovely- banish those thoughts from your head, Severus, you have no need to think such things..."  He cleared his throat, "Well, are you settled about the Eddwords situation now?"  Her face glowed with a serenity that he had not seen from anyone but her, "Yes, thank you, I think I am- thank you for the dance, the listening, and for giving voice your thoughts."  He smiled softly; Anne was overjoyed in her spirit- he had never smiled like that around her.  He thought before he replied, "Not all my thoughts Miss Anne, not all..."  Aloud he said, "I am glad to have been of help.  I have to get down to my classroom- there are tests to be graded that I know will not grade themselves.  Good day, Anne."  Anne rose as he did and stepped close to him.  She slowly placed her arms around him and gave him a gentle hug.  She pulled away, slightly embarrassed, "Sorry- I- um...yeah, have a nice day, Severus."  He turned and left the room as silently as he had entered.  Anne tossed her MP3 player back in her pocket, "I hope that he doesn't take that in the wrong way..." and she followed his lead- she too had things to do for her class.

Twenty-four hours later, Anne was sitting in her chambers with her daughter and was painting Angel's portrait when she heard a muffled shout from next door, "You will stop this preposterous prank this instant, Miss Riddle, or you will be spending the rest of your life in detention!"  Anne sighed, set her palette and brush down on the table and turned to Angel, "Don't move- I'm not done with the painting, but I have to go find out what on this Earth is going on next door."  Angel nodded as Anne slipped out her door.  She found Jade leaning up against the Potion's Lab door grinning, "Jadelyn, what is going on here?"  "Oh, nothing, I'm just doing my Uncle Robert a favour."  Severus' voice on the other side of the door fell silent; Anne pointed to Jadelyn, "That is playing dirty- you do not bring up a piece of the past simply as torment.  I know one sort of person who would do such a thing- your father and his minions, and I know that you do not want to become one of them- now tell me what is going on here."  Jadelyn shot a glare at the door, "I charmed the door- it does not wish to open.  I will be leaving now."  Jade turned to go and Anne called after her, "Until this is sorted out and resolved, you will not be with Angelique, do you understand?"  Jade stopped and pointed her wand at the door, "Angel is of more value to me than an old feud.  Let it be done.  I will apologize in a letter composed this afternoon and delivered this evening in Slytherin house.  That is all."  She muttered a counter to her charm and disappeared up the stairs.  Anne pulled open the door to find Professor Snape standing directly on the other side, "Oh!  Are you all right, sir?  Did you hear what Jade just stated?"  He nodded, "I will still expect her to serve a detention with me tomorrow- in the morning if possible, to arrange the demonstrations for the day and clean my cauldron."  Anne sighed, "Thank goodness that an even uglier situation was avoided...I would have hated to have had to suspend Jade and Angel's time together- both of them treasure it so dearly," she leaned on the doorframe, "Can I come in?"  Severus nodded; Anne smiled, "Thank you," once in the room with the door shut behind her, Anne continued, "That was a bloody low trick for Jade to pull that up- using the memory of the dead as an excuse for irrational and irresponsible actions is now way for a lady to behave!" her voice softened and she stood in front of him- he had not moved since she had entered the room, "Severus, are you all right?"  He started out of the daze he had fallen into, "I'm sorry, Anne, what was that you said?"  She repeated her inquiry with the same amount of concern in her tone, "I asked if you were all right, considering what Jade just threw into your face."  He nodded, "Yes Anne, I am fine.  If you will leave me now, I have work to be attending to."

Jade went up to Slytherin House and began to compose her letter.  That evening, good to her word, Jade delivered it to her uncle.  As Jade left, Snape opened the letter.  It read:

Severus sighed, she wanted to hear his story; he did not wish to reveal it to another person at the school.  He wondered if Anne was still awake.  Glancing at the clock on the mantle, he decided that since it was merely ten o'clock at night, that Anne would most likely still be busy.  Severus rose and left the Common Room, if anyone could advise him on this situation, Annelise Marrion Schetzek would be the one who could.

As Anne was attempting to get Angel detached from Macbeth, there came a knock on her chamber door, "Angel, you have only as long as the guest is here to read- then it is off to bed with you," she called to the person at the door, "Come in, it is unlocked!"  Severus entered the room and nodded to each Anne and Angel, "Anne, I received the letter from Jadelyn this evening and I have the detention in mind, there is another part of the letter which I have come to seek your advice on.  It is Jadelyn's request."  Anne took the piece of paper he was offering her and read the section he was indicating:

Anne sighed and smiled softly, "Well, I would say that the best advice I can give to you is that you arrange a time to correct the factual errors which exist in her mind.  I would suggest that you meet as soon as possible so as to clear up these confusions quickly.  I will offer my room here or my classroom up for you to meet in if it is more convenient to you."  Severus nodded and took the letter from Anne, "Thank you- I will be deciding on this momentarily."  He turned on his heels and left.  Angel sighed, "Well Mum, I think you and he have hit off fabulously.  I am done with Macbeth.  I will be going to bed now.  Good night!"

The next evening, after Jade had served her detention, she, Angel, Henry, Hermione, and Ron, all gallivanted around the castle together.  In doing so, Angel heard a disgruntled voice muttering ahead of them, "Hush you guys, it's Eddwords!"  The four following behind her fell silent.  They listened in on him, "Blasted Mudblood, causing far too many problems in my work- I will have to find a way to get her out of the way..."  Jade crept silently up behind him, "Boo."  Eddwords jumped nearly sky high and toppled down the stairs behind him.  Ron, Harry, and Hermione stood at the landing at the top and starred down at his unconscious form.  Jade swore a blue streak and Angel schemed, "Hey, Jade, Hermione, guys, I know what we can do!"  Jade stopped her tongue and grinned mischievously at Angel, "Are you thinking what I am thinking?"  Angel looked at Jade innocently, "Only if you are thinking about are little fun that we had on February twenty-seventh."  Jade's eyes glimmered, "Do you think that Moaning Myrtle could use a little company?"  Hermione figured out what her friends were conspiring about, "That was YOU?"  Harry and Ron were still in the dark; Harry inquired, "What is going on?  What did they do?"  Hermione looked at the boys, her face asking where they had been the past month, "Anne and Eddwords obviously can't stand one another, Eddwords shows up in a bathroom during February, these two reference it- is it clear what I am saying yet?"  Ron's eyes grew wide, "Anne tossed him in there? No way!"  Angel tugged on his robes, "Yeah way- now help us get him out of the way before he wakes up.  And it wasn't just Mum- Jade and I were more responsible than her."  Harry took a deep breath, "What do we need to do?"  Angel thought for a moment, "Find a way to carry him to the bathroom without being seen.  Then Hermione and Jade will need to carry him, I will be the lookout, and you two can help me keep cover and open doors, got it?"  Harry and Ron nodded and Harry pulled a shimmering object from a bag Hermione had been carrying, "Here, Dad's cloak should work well to conceal him- let's get moving."

On Saturday, Anne found a little note tacked to her door,

Anne grinned as she read it; they must have done something to him last night while they were out wandering.  She handed the note to Angel, "Hey, what did you guys do last night?"  Angel read the note and laughed, "I wonder if Myrtle appreciated the company..."  Anne looked puzzled, "Who is Myrtle?"  Angel quickly replied, "Ghost in one of the girl's bathrooms."  Anne smirked, "You tossed him in the bathroom again, didn't you?"  Angel attempted to hide her amusement by looking innocent, but it didn't work to well, "Mum, Jade had scared him and he had fallen down the stairs, he was unconscious, and I thought to myself, 'Now what would my Mum do?'  Jade must have been thinking the same thing because we both referenced the February deal.  After Hermione figured it out and got the boys to see the light, we got to work and did not even have a run in with Filch's cat."  Anne smiled, "Good work, now we have to be careful how we tread with this- it cannot happen more than once a month and we have to keep out untrustworthy parties.  Now you go and run along, we have nothing practical to do all weekend, so go have fun- and avoid Eddwords, he is bound to be sour after last night's trek to the bathroom."

Hours later Anne found herself in Myrtle's bathroom, "Hello?  Is anyone here?  I heard that my daughter dragged someone in here on Friday."  A little whimper came from behind a stall door, "Yes, an awful man was in here, he was very rude to me."  Anne knocked on the door she thought the voice issued from behind, but there was no answer.  She turned around and found herself face to face with the ghost of a female student, "Oh!  You must be Myrtle!"  The girl smiled, "Someone has been talking about me?" her face turned suspicious, "Has someone been saying bad things about me now that I'm dead?"  Anne sighed and gently grinned, "No, not at all, Harry, Ron, and Hermione have said nothing but friendly things about you.  My daughter dragged the rude man, Professor Eddwords, in here last night- she, Jadelyn Riddle, and Harry's gang are making his life miserable because he seems to be trying very hard to do the same for me."  Myrtle scowled, "Riddle...is she related to Tom?"  Anne sighed, "Unfortunately she is his daughter- but don't worry, she doesn't like him any more than the rest of us do."  Myrtle was satisfied and the conversation ended soon after.

Tuesday was April Fool's day, and Angel had schemed the entire weekend with Jade.  In Potions class, Jade began a lengthy debate with her uncle about the medicinal properties of newts while Harry got Crabbe and Goyle on the defensive; Draco followed suit.  While all possible observing parties were distracted, Ron and Hermione slipped a tiny black sphere in with Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy's newt eyes destined to enter their cauldrons.  Jade ended her discussion and found each of Harry, Ron, and Hermione taking on one of their Slytherin counterparts.  Jade walked over to them, "Break it up- you can try to kill each other outside of class, but not here."  Everyone drifted back to their seats and continued with their tasks.  Unexpectedly, Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy's cauldrons began to bubble and smoke.  They backed away and within ten seconds a bright white column of flame exploded upward from the cauldron, splattering liquid on the ceiling which proceeded to rain down on the unlucky Slytherin's heads.  The room was silent for a moment, until Jade began to snicker, "This is rich- the perfect Slytherin trio and their perfect little cauldrons are spattered with whatever that was...I love it!"  Harry began to laugh, along with Angel who had just entered the room.  Snape shot a shrewd glare at Jade and approached Draco, "I suggest that you begin to clean up this mess before it hardens onto the ceiling, Mr. Malfoy."  Draco winced as a drop of the goop landed on his head, "That's servant's work."  Snape raised an eyebrow inquisitively, "Is it now?  I guess that means that since you do not know how to clean on your own you will need some help; Goyle, Crabbe- get to work alongside Malfoy."

After all their classes had finished, the pranksters met in Anne's chambers.  Jade flopped into a chair, "Did you see the look on Draco's face when Snape told him to get working?  That was priceless!"  Angel added to Jade's recollection of the day with a gleam in her eyes, "Now wait a second, the look that Crabbe and Goyle shared when they were told to help, now that was something that I wish I had a camera for..."  Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting on the edge of the table; each of the conspirators high-fived the others of the group and agreed.  Jade pulled a tiny object from her skirt, "A camera you say?  I have this little one right here...it is a Muggle spy cam, so there is no flash and it is noiseless; bet you didn't notice it click three times..."  Everyone cheered; their celebration was cut short by a knock on the door.  Jade hid the camera in her skirt and Angel answered the door.  Anne entered, "What are you five doing in here looking guilty as the Cheshire cat?"  Jade nodded to Angel, "We can let her in on our little secret, she will understand."  Angel nodded, "Let's tell the story from the beginning, each of us telling about our part as it happened.  Me, I helped plan it all.  There, that was my part- Jade, your turn!"  Jade grinned and told her part of the tale and then the others added in their parts.  At the end, Anne was laughing so hard she had to sink into a chair.  Through her laughter she managed to say, "Jade...got...pictures?!"  Jade grinned and showed Anne the little camera, "The only problem is that it is a Muggle camera and I don't know how to develop the film.  Anne's laughter toned down and she winked at Jade, "No problem- you just need silver nitrate and a few other chemicals which I am proud to say I own.  Once you use up the roll of film, just let me know and we can create a darkroom for you and develop them."  Suddenly Anne's door opened and Snape entered the room; he approached Jadelyn, "Miss Riddle, do you know how Malfoy's cauldron exploded today and who was involved?"  She leaned back against the wall and folded her arms across her chest, "Yes."  His countenance asked her to reveal more information, but she did not yield.  He nodded, "At least tell me what was used- I know that you were somehow involved."  She shook her head, "Sorry, that is classified, but I can tell you these two things- it reacted with the newt eyes in the potion and the secret was passed down in the family of the instigator."  He tilted his head, "I see...Nigel's 'Exploding Infernal Eye'- that trick was, and still is, apparently, one of his favourites."  Snape turned on his heels and left.  He stopped at the door, "Feel lucky, Miss Riddle, that it is a family secret that you used- I know how to dissolve the paste on my ceiling.  You will serve detention with me tomorrow morning before classes to brew the solvent and to help Draco and his little friends to apply it to the ceiling."  He disappeared into the lab.  Jade sighed, "I've been here for nearly two months and I have served how many detentions...?"

On Wednesday night, Dumbledore announced that they would have another new student joining them, this one, Zack Pitman, would be joining them from Durmstrang, "Mr. Pitman is a fifth year and has been sorted into Ravenclaw, and I would like you all to give him a warm welcome in classes tomorrow." 

Thursday, April third; the first day of classes for Zack.  Hermione noticed him first in Potions where they were brewing things without newt's eyes in the contents.  Snape stopped them in their work and addressed the class, "After Tuesday's unfortunate incident, I am asking that you describe to me which substances are most reactive with eye of newt."  Hermione raised her hand, "Yes, Miss Granger?"  "Powdered root of the aspen tree infused with a tincture of cat's claws and the hair of a dog."  Zack shook his head and raised his hand, "Yes, Mr. Pitman, you have something to add?"  "It doesn't need the cat in the potion, just the hair of a black dog, aspen root, and a little bit of spit to hold it all together."  Snape nodded, "That is correct, Mr. Pitman.  Back to work."  Hermione glared at the new student.  No one outdid Hermione Granger in Potions class, at least not until now.

Zack entered Defence Against the Dark Arts with high hopes; a girl in his Potions class told him that Miss Granger never got a question wrong and he had just corrected her.  Upon entering Defence Against the Dark Arts, Zack stopped short; he swore that he knew the teacher from somewhere...but where?  He sat down and waited for class to start.  The instructor approached him, "Mr. Pitman, I believe we have met before, haven't we?  I am Eddwords.  You know me."  Zack nodded, "Yeah, you were the reason I left Durmstrang- He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named followed you there and discovered that I knew what he was doing in the area- he knew that I knew which students in the school were following him.  You left first because you were helping his enemies by punishing these students and he knew it.  I left later because I didn't want him to hurt my family."  Eddwords hissed, "Yesss- little brat that you were- you gave me names and then stopped when you were in trouble."  Other students began to enter the room, "Pitman, we'll settle this tomorrow, here, before lunch."

That Saturday, Anne walked to Eddwords' classroom after lunch. She knocked on the door and called, "Eddwords?  Eddwords?  I wanted to return the book that Jade swiped on Friday- are you there?"  She heard a moan and opened the door.  There on the floor was Zack, sprawled out against a wall.  Anne dashed over and helped him sit up, "What happened?  Wait, don't talk yet- tell Albus in a few moments."  She helped Zack to stand and escorted him to the hospital wing.  Poppy met her at the door and as soon as Zack was settled in, Anne ran to find Albus- things were getting weirder by the moment with the Eddwords situation and Anne needed Albus to see this.

Sunday Zack was allowed to have visitors.  Anne brought him cookies she had baked that morning and stayed there with him.  Zack told her stories of his life and why he and Eddwords were enemies, and Anne told Zack her story as she had told it to the rest of her student many weeks before.  She told Zack how Eddwords had treated her and they both agreed that Eddwords would be more trouble by the end of the year.  After lunch, Angel brought Jade and Ginny Weasley to see Zack.  Everyone was properly introduced and had a wonderful time.

On Monday, Anne began to teach her students Arthurian legend.  Anne brought in books and told her students that they would be talking about the various components of the legend that week.

Tuesday they talked about knights and chivalry, but Angel, who usually loved to sit in on her mother's lessons, was no where to be found.

Zack sat up in the hospital wing still, waiting for his little friend to return with news.  Angel bounced in, "Sure enough, she thinks you are very cute.  I told her that you said the same and she just about flipped.  I think you have a good chance with her."  Zack smiled, "Ginny...she is such a sweet little lady- what class did you say she is in right now?"  Angel pulled out a list from her pocket, "She's in my Mum's class- no I can't pull her from it- they are studying knights and stuff today- Mum is demonstrating heavy weapons combat with Jade.  It should be an interesting class.  I have to run an errand for Professor Snape now, so give me a minute to do that and then I will go and get Ginny after her class and bring her up here- good deal?"  Zack nodded, "Great deal- see you then."

Angel scampered down to the dungeons with a note and tacked it on her mother's door.  Then she ran to meet Ginny as she was leaving Anne's classroom, "Ginny- come on, Zack wants to meet with you up in the hospital wing."  She practically dragged Ginny along the halls and to Zack.  Then Angel left to go see what Snape had thought of the note she had left.  She found her mother and Snape standing in the hall outside of Anne's chamber.  Angel ducked behind a gargoyle and listened to their conversation.  Snape's voice reached her ear first, "Anne, Eddwords injured a student this weekend, he will be fine, but there is no telling if we will get this lucky next time.  Neither of us can approach him about it without fear of being attacked ourselves- we have to find someone to help us."  He sighed, "Who can we trust, Anne?  The only person I can see being of any help is Albus and he has already taken this into his hands and dealt with the situation of Pitman and Eddwords."  Anne leaned on the wall and crossed her arms over her chest, "We just have to be very on our guard, especially when we know that he will be around us."  Severus joined her on the wall, "I have asked Albus that Pitman be taken out of Eddwords' class and that I personally tutor him in Defence Against the Dark Arts.  Albus did not want to approve it, but seeing that he had no choice, he let me take on the task.  I will be starting once Pitman is out of the hospital wing."  Anne nodded and smiled, "That will be a nice change of pace for you."  "It may be," he sighed, "but it may also bring to light a few memories that I do not wish to remember of my time in the Dark Arts."  Anne stepped away from the wall and placed her hand gently on his shoulder, "If that happens, remember that friends are made to help each other- you can always stop in if you need or want to."  He nodded and turned to enter his classroom, and Anne turned to her door, "Severus, do you know anything about this?"  He had already closed the door though, and Anne was left alone to open the little note,

"Meet me in the Astronomy tower after dinner; I have something that may be of interest to you.  ~Severus"

Anne smiled- he did know about the note.  She closed the door to her room and flopped down on the cot.  Moments later, Angel slipped in the room and began to work on Anne's lecture for the next day.  It was about Morrighan and Morgan LeFay, Angel's ancestry, and

Anne had asked that Angel give her a personal reference on the subject.

Anne travelled to the Astronomy tower and met Severus there.  He handed her a worn looking package which she opened in the moonlight.  Inside the parchment was an old copy of "Le Morte de Arthur" written in French.  She opened the cover and read an inscription inside,

Anne smiled and turned to thank him, but he had disappeared while she had been reading his note. 

Anne wrapped up the week with a viewing of "Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail" and then took the film up to the hospital wing so that Ginny could show it to Zack.  On Saturday Zack was released from the hospital wing and they spent the whole day outside by the banks of the lake.

Monday, April 14th in Anne's class began baseball season.  She introduced them to the sport by first training them how to umpire a game by watching clips from the 1984 World Series.  Tuesday she taught them how to use each piece of equipment that was used in the game, Wednesday she taught them how to pitch a baseball and on Thursday they all practiced pitching to one another.  Friday was the true test of bravery; she taught the kids how to hit the ball.  Overall, Anne's class only broke one window, and it happened to be Eddwords'. 

On Saturday Anne shut herself in her room to avoid Eddwords.  She pulled her ebony box from her sea chest and gently set it on the table.  She pulled out a vial and swirled it carefully, watching as it changed glowing colours in her hand.  She filed it and removed another vial, this one containing a black sludge.  She quickly replaced it and lifted a two inch square box from the ebony case.  She lifted the lid and stared at the rows of tiny hair clippings.  "At one time these would have been very useful- I could have looked like anyone in this box- even the Queen herself...or another Death Eater..."  Anne was still staring at the hairs when a knock came on her door, "Who is it?"  She immediately recognized the voice which carried the answer, "Severus- may I enter?"  She placed the lid back on the hair-box and set it on the table, "I guess."  He pushed open the door, "You guess?"  "Yeah, I guess- this really isn't the best time to talk, but that is irrelevant to me."  He walked beside her and peered into the ebony box.  He removed the vial of black sludge from among the other eight vials in the case, "The eight most essential potions for any Death Eater and the components any Potions Master needs to create anything of use on a mission.  I remember that...Anne, why do you have this stuff?  Especially these vials, if the Ministry were to catch you with it-" She cut him off, "They would have my hide- I know.  That vial you hold- do you know what is in it?"  He shook his head, “It is not one of the eight- you added it to your case."  She nodded, "It is what killed Angel's parents.  I can't throw it away because I do not know who could end up with it.  Anyhow, if I threw away this stuff, then I would be leaving tracks that Voldemort and his friends could too easily follow.  I prefer to keep it as an eternal reminder of what I have come from, what I must fight, what I lost, and what I will never succumb to again."  Severus nodded, "What is this anyway?"  He began to uncork the vial when Anne caught his hand, "Don't- the fumes are deadly, especially after all this time when they have been concentrating in there for so long- we lost one of our own when creating it and when using it."  He carefully made sure that the seal was not broken and replaced it in the ebony box, "You are a brave woman to keep these things.  You should have left them with the one whom gave them to you."  She shook her head, "I am the only one who has any of the black stuff- I would not let it out of my sight when I was making it and then using it- in the bottom of this box are the papers I wrote to describe how to concoct this poison, and the failures of those before me- here, you can read them if you wish.  Voldemort did not get to keep what he called his 'black gold', rather I did."  Severus read Anne’s notes in silence and replaced them in the box, "It is a brilliant combination of toxins that you used.  Do you still recall, without looking at your notes, how you came to discover this?"  Anne nodded and placed the hair-box back into the ebony case.  She then made sure that all which was to be stored in the ebony box had indeed made its way into it and she locked the lid.  She rose and placed it in her sea chest, tucking it to the bottom wrapped in a black shroud.  She turned to Severus, "What did you wish to see me about?  Surely it was not that you knew about the ebony box, so you must have had another motive."

Severus sat in a chair next to hers and leaned on the table, "I was wondering if the text was any use to you."  She beamed, "Angel has been reading to me in French from the text every night since you gave it to me- I love hearing it- I could read it myself, but Angel has the perfect accent because of her father and her voice is musical with the language.  I love it- thank you."  He nodded and Anne tilted her head to the side, "Would you like a cup of tea?  The kettle has been on all morning and I have not made a cup yet."  He nodded and she brought him tea in a minute, in a chipped coffee mug stamped with Big Ben.  She sat down after serving, her own cup bearing the logo of Michigan State University, "How are your lessons with Zack going- are they working out all right?"  He nodded.  They sat and sipped their tea in the stillness of the dungeon.  Anne smiled, it was nice not to feel like she had to hold a conversation to be a good hostess; Severus was content in silence.

The next day was Easter Sunday.  Anne woke up at four in the morning to hide eggs coloured with the different house colours.  At five o'clock, Jade woke up and tampered with Anne's carefully laid plans.  At seven, students filed out of the school in the early morning light and began the hunt.  Each house had twenty eggs hidden on the grounds and an hour to find them all.  At eight o'clock Anne called all the students to the steps and totalled the eggs found, "Hufflepuff, seventeen; Ravenclaw, eighteen; Gryffindor, twenty...and Slytherin somehow has twenty-four..."  Anne glanced over to Jade and then back at the baskets for each house, "Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, if you would like to continue to search for your eggs, feel free- Gryffindor, you may offer your assistance, meanwhile I have to figure out-" Slytherin's egg basket exploded in a flash of green light and an excess of green smoke, spattering the Slytherins with egg yolk, "Never mind, the extra eggs have been accounted for."

After the egg hunt, there was a large breakfast in the Great Hall of pancakes and eggs and every sort of breakfast novelty that one could imagine.  Angel was working in the kitchen with the house elves the entire time, making sure that there was enough of each kind of pancake.  As breakfast began to wrap up, Anne popped in, "Angel, be sure to come down to the room as soon as you are done so we can read the Easter Story together!"  Angel nodded enthusiastically and hurried up her work- she did not want to miss their yearly ten o'clock tradition.

Promptly at ten, Anne pulled out an old book from her sea chest and set it on the table.  The book had no title and no author credited on the cover.  Angel opened to one of the two thousand hand written pages and flipped halfway through the book until she found the one titled, "Easter according to the Gospels of Saint Matthew, Saint Mark, and Saint Luke compiled on December fourteenth, eighteen seventy three by Claudius Matthews III."  Anne sat at the table and Angel climbed on her lap, "Well Mums, you know that it really is Easter when we get out the Big Book and read what your old relation copied!  Hopefully when we read it again this year, Jesus'll still rise from the dead in the end!"  Anne laughed, "Child, you know He always does- hasn't missed a year yet!"  Angel grinned, "I know, I was testing you."  Anne began to read aloud,

"As we have seen, on Holy Thursday, Jesus and His disciples shared a meal now known to us as the Last Supper.  This recollection takes us from that evening through Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and to Easter Sunday." 

She paused a moment as a knock came at the door.  Anne called from her seat, "Come in...the door is unlocked and I am serving as a chair for a nine year old with a cat on her lap."  The door creaked open and Professor Snape stepped in.  He looked unsettled, "You left breakfast early, Anne."  He regarded her suspiciously; she thought that he must have believed her partial to the attacker who had 'egged' the Slytherins that morning.  She smiled, "Yes, I did leave early, is there something wrong with that?"  He shook his head and turned to leave when Angel called to him, "Wait a minute..." she set the cat on the table and slid off her mother's lap, "You want to sit with us and hear Mum read?  She's tellin' me an' Kathleen the cat the Easter Story like one of her ancestors wrote it in this real old book.  You should hear it; this guy who copied this stuff was amazing."  He sighed, the child certainly was eager to have him stay, and for some reason, he felt compelled to fulfil her request.  He sat down at the opposite end of the long table.  Angel plopped her hands on her hips and sighed, "Really, that will never do, you have to come and sit with us."  She tugged at his sleeve and waited.  Anne smiled, "Angel dear, you know what I told you- let people do what they will unless it is harmful.  If Professor Snape does not want to sit here, then he may sit there- it is no trouble to anyone at all."  Anne smiled softly at Angelique, "Sit, my love, and I will continue in the tale."

Anne set up for her class early Monday morning.  She left a note on her classroom door that her class was to meet outside for the entire next week.  Before her students arrived, she assigned every one of her students a number and placed all the numbers (except those of her two umpires) in a hat.  Then she waited for her class to begin.

"All right everyone, simmer down, we have a lot of work to do today.  Ginny and Susan's requests to be Umpires reached me first, so they will not be playing with us this week.  The rest of you will be divided into three teams of nine which will compete the rest of this week and we will have a Hogwarts World Series for the top teams.  Hopefully we will not have a tie at the end of the week and this can be played on Friday- if there is a problem, we will bump the Series to Saturday.  Your teams are as follows:

Anne smiled, "There you have it, your three teams for the Hogwarts Baseball League Spring Weeklong season.  Today will be spent training with your team."  As Anne expected, the day went well.  She had no idea who would win each game, skills wise, the teams were evenly divided.  By the end of the week the standings were as follows:
 

On Thursday, Anne announced to the student body that for those of them who had not already come out and watched the baseball games, there would be a Hogwarts World Series on Friday and the entire school was invited out to watch them play.  She described that the teams which would be in the series playing each other would be teams one and three.  She listed off which students were on each team and where their games of baseball were set up. 

On Friday the bleachers Anne had moved to her make-shift baseball diamond were filled and overflowing with cheering students ready to see their friends play this Muggle sport which Anne so strictly regulated to be sure that there would be no magical cheating.  The first and second innings got the game off to a good start with at score of four to six with team three in the lead.  The third inning proved to be more tame with an easy three outs for team one and another easy three outs for team three.  Before Anne really could tell that much time had passed the score was team one with ten and team three with eleven at the seventh inning stretch.  Inning eight passed quickly and by the bottom of the ninth team one was leading by eight runs over team three, which had thirteen runs.  Team three was up to bat, the bases were loaded, and there was one out left in the inning.  Draco was up to bat.  Anne was commentating, "Malfoy's up to bat, the count is three to zero.  He swings, and it's a miss, strike one.  He readies himself at the plate, and with a swing, this one's good to send him to second.  Weasley makes it from third to home and Weasley makes it from second to third.  One run scored and Longbottom takes to the plate.  He swings and fouls along the first base side.  The count is zero and one.  He swings and this one is good for a single, no runs scored that time folks.  Bulstrode up to bat.  She swings and it is foul.  This one looks like a good pitch, she swings and strike one- the count is one and one.  This one's flies fair, and is caught in the outfield, ladies and gents that was game.  Team one has one the first Hogwarts World Series with an incredible score of fourteen to twenty-one.  That is absolutely amazing folks; this is Anne Schetzek with Hogwarts broadcasting signing off on this wonderful afternoon of baseball."

Saturday, April twenty-sixth was officially named a sleep day for anyone who had played in the games.  Sunday, once everyone had regained their slumber, was a day of celebration for all of Anne's students.  They partied in the Great Hall all day, dancing and hanging out, after all, it isn't every day that one gets to play baseball for a week and have it count as class time.

May first came, but was not an ordinary day for Anne and Angel.  They strung a maypole and set it up for all the students to see and, rather than having a lecture of the culture of a country (Anne's current topic), the students held a Beltane celebration and wove the maypole.  Anne explained to them that Beltane was an ancient Celtic holiday celebrating the coming of Summer and the return of the long days of light.  Angelique taught the students about her own celebrations she had attended as a child in both Brittany and Éire.  After a traditional Celtic feast that evening, Anne and Angel went out to the lake bank to enjoy one of the first warm days since they had settled in.  They were staring at the sunset when Angel broke the silence, "Mum?"  "Yeah babe?" Anne turned to Angel, "Mum, I want to make a bet with you."  Anne rolled her eyes, "What?"  Angel's face was unusually calm and serious, "I predict that within a year, you and Professor Snape will have a bit more than friendship in your favour."  Anne sighed, "What do you mean by that?"  Angel looked at her mother with her eyes asking if Anne was serious, "He's gonna pull you out of your little 'I'm never gonna fall in love again' phase."  Anne glared at Angel, "Look, I never said that..."  "You don't have to- I can read it in you easy," Angel retorted.  Anne sighed, "You know that I shelter myself for good reason.  I don't want a repeat of what happened last time."  Angel began to play with a blade of grass, "That was a few years ago; you were nineteen."  "And it still haunts me," Anne shot back.  Angel shook her head, "I would still bet money that he is going to be the one to change your mind.  You are going to fall in love again and it will be with Professor Snape- no matter what you think now."  Anne knew it was useless to try to convince Angel otherwise, "Fine, we'll bet a Gallion on it, got that?"  Angel grinned, "You're on."  "One year."  "Right, then I, Angelique Marie LeFay, collect my winnings and declare victory over you, Annelise Marrion Schetzek."  Anne shook her head, "Whatever you think- most likely I will get to raid your stash and I will be the richer."  Angel hmpf'ed, "Yeah, not likely, but if for some odd reason I'm wrong...Deal?"  Anne grinned, "Deal."  They shook hands and Anne paused, "I should know better than to try and talk you out of a bet, shouldn't I?"  Angel gave her mother a sly grin, "Yup."

Friday came and went peacefully for those who were not privy to the scene that played out in Gryffindor house.  Ginny flopped down on the couch next to Ron.  Rather than greet her, he glared and snapped, "Why aren't you with your precious Zack- you haven't spent a day without running off to Ravenclaw house yet."  Ginny shot the glare back, "Is there something wrong with me spending time with friends like you do?"  Ron rolled his eyes, "You don't even sit with us at lunch anymore."  Ginny scoffed, "Jade doesn't sit with her house either.  She sits at Hufflepuff or Gryffindor more often than not.  What's so wrong with that?"  Ron began to yell, "What's so wrong?!  Nothing at all, except that you never sit with your family anymore, you never talk to us; you don't even study with us!  It's like the sorting hat made a mistake and put you in the wrong house!  If you don't want to see us, then get out of here and go back to your precious Ravenclaw!  GO!"  Ginny stood up fighting off tears, "FINE!  I will go!  You couldn't make me stay if you wanted to!"  She stomped off out of the room.  Harry turned to Hermione, "We may have a mess to clean up from this- who knows what Ginny'll do."  Hermione nodded, "I think he was a little harsh on her..."

Ginny ran all the way to Ravenclaw where she met Angel leaving the common room, "Don't shut the door, Angel, I need to...is he in there?"  Angel pulled a tissue out from her pocket, "Yeah, take this with you- you look like you need it."  Ginny nodded her thanks and entered the common room.  Zack was sitting in a high-back chair, "Ginny, what is going on?"  Ginny plopped in the huge chair next to him, "Ron, he is what’s going on- he’s evil...”  She broke into sobs on his shoulder; he sighed, Ron would have to answer for this....

Saturday, May third came with the announcement that Eddwords would be restarting the Duelling Club.  Anne and Severus both made their way to the Great Hall to see what Eddwords would be teaching the students.  They entered to see Eddwords searching for a duelling partner, "Ah, Severus, you should be able to compete against me- come and duel.  Severus nodded and took his place on the strip.  Anne watched nervously as Severus blocked Eddwords' first spell and shot the leg-locker curse at Eddwords.  Eddwords was not fast enough and fell to his face.  Severus rejoined Anne, "After three years in school of being in the duelling club and winding up champion of each year, you would think that I would have taken him down one step quicker."  Anne smiled and Eddwords caught her, "Miss Schetzek, would you like to take the challenge?"  Anne cocked her head to the side, "Yeah, under one condition- that the winner of this duel gets to fight the staff member of his or her choice.”  Eddwords saw no harm in that and nodded.  Anne took her place on the strip and winked to Angelique.  She stood poised, but without her wand.  Eddwords was confused, "This is no time for games, Miss Schetzek, get out your wand."  Anne grinned, "There is no need for that in the least bit."  He shrugged and sent a spell flying at Anne.  She caught it in her hands and pitched it back at Eddwords, fastball style.  In shock, he flew back against the wall and stuck there.  Anne brushed off her hands and held out her right hand, "Come!"  Eddwords' wand flew from his hand and landed in Anne's.  She set the wand on the edge of the strip, "It would appear that I have won.  Severus, would you mind?  I need a staff member to duel..."  He took his place on the opposite end of the strip.  She nodded and they began, she using her wand against her equal, rather than her hands.  Everyone watched as they shot various spells at one another and blocked them one by one.  The duel lasted five minutes until Anne cast the wall-stick spell on Severus, and rather than block it as she expected, he sent it back to her in twice the strength.  Anne found herself upside-down and stuck to the wall in a nanosecond.  She was laughing as he countered the spell and caught her as she fell from the wall.  She nodded to the students, "I think he won..."  They stepped down from the strip and removed Eddwords from the wall.  He was not too pleased, so he asked if two students would like to duel.  Zack raised his hand and Anne nudged Ron, "Go up there; I know you want to...show off in front of Hermione."  Ron looked at Anne as though she were crazy as he mounted the strip and stared his adversary in the eye.  "This is for stealing my sister," he thought.  Meanwhile, Zack was thinking, "This is for hurting my Ginny..."  Ginny, meanwhile, was having a mental argument with herself, "I really should be cheering for my brother, but after Friday, well, I just don't feel like it."  The duel began.  Neither student hit each other at first, until Ron shot Zack's feet out from under him.  Zack got up and shouted, "Wingardium Leviosa!"  Ron found himself hovering, and then rotating around his stomach.  Zack kept him spinning, and then raised him to the ceiling.  Ron looked like he was going to be ill.  Zack stopped Ron from spinning and dropped him on top of Crabbe and Goyle from only seven feet up.  Anne couldn't help but laugh as Crabbe and Goyle shrieked like girls facing a rat.  Eddwords glared at Zack and spat out, "Nice."  Unfortunately, Ron fell over a few times before Harry and Hermione could reach him and was being targeted by the Slytherins with all kinds of unpleasant names.  Jade stopped that with a glare in their direction and pulled Ron to his feet, "Go and rest- that was a bit rough."  Another rivalry at Hogwarts had begun...

On Monday Anne found Ginny bouncing through the halls of Hogwarts right before curfew, "Well, Miss Weasley, why so jolly?"  Ginny motioned for Anne to come close and whispered in her ear, "He kissed me!"  Anne stood up and smiled sweetly, "Your first?"  Ginny nodded and Anne grinned, "Lucky girl..."

On Tuesday Ron found out about the kiss from Draco who had been spying on Jade who had been Zack's lookout.  He was, needless to say, not happy with this new turn of events.  In Potions class Draco slipped him the note and sat there grinning.  Moments earlier Zack had beaten Draco by making the perfect concoction to restore one's hair to its proper colour if it had been changed by a pranking friend or enemy.  Draco nodded to Ron; they would be forced to form a temporary alliance to rid them of this pest.

Wednesday after classes, Draco and his henchmen cornered Zack in the hallway outside of Slytherin house.  Little did they know they were being watched.  Draco sneered, "You really think you can get away with all this?  Stealing my glory in Snape's class is hardly fair- after all, my father-"  He was cut off by a voice from behind, "Give it up, Malfoy; he's not worth it."  He turned to see Jade leaning on the corner of the corridor cleaning her nails with a small dagger.  He nodded to Crabbe and Goyle, "Get out of here.  That one only brings trouble," he turned to Zack, "You watch your back."  The three Slytherin boys left the scene quickly.  Zack walked up to Jade, "Thanks.  Have we met?"  Jade shook her head, "Not really- my name is Jadelyn Adelaide Vanessa Riddle.  You may just call me Jade.  You are lucky that I keep an eye on those three.  They talk tough, but every once in a while they get the guts to actually carry through on their threats.  It's rare, but I've seen it happen- they tried to pull that stunt on a little kid, eight years old, but I threw them into the wall instead. 

Anyhow, I know who you are, no need to introduce."  She turned to leave and tossed back over her shoulder, "Oh, if he tires to pull the 'my-daddy' stunt, his daddy pales in comparison to my daddy."  Zack smiled, he thought that what Jade said meant that Draco grossly over rated his father's powers.  Little did he know who her father really was.

Monday, May twelfth; Albus asked Anne to sit in with Eddwords and help in his instruction of blocking Dark Curses.  Neither Anne nor Eddwords were pleased in the least bit.

On Tuesday, things had escalated.  Eddwords had openly condemned Anne for her past in class and had cut on Snape for being sympathetic to her cause.  Anne sat with Severus after dinner and told him the entire story.  He rose, "That is the final straw, I am sick of that man and his accusations.  He will be hearing from me this time."  Severus stood to leave.  Anne rose and spoke, "Do you want me to come along?" he shook his head, "Do you want me to silently follow you and spy on the whole thing?"  Severus nodded, "Good idea- you can report also to Albus that this man is a menace to our instruction to the students."  Anne scoffed under her breath, "And to my sanity..."

Anne reached the door of Eddwords' classroom to hear Eddwords shouting at a silent Severus.  Anne flung open the door, "What on Earth is going on in here?  Calm down!"  Eddwords turned to her, "Miss Schetzek, this is no concern of yours.  Leave."  Anne raised her eyebrows, "I'm making it my concern."  Severus then turned to her, "Anne, leave before you get hurt."  She got cocky, "Sorry boys, that's not going to happen."  Before she could blink, she noticed Eddwords' wand slip into his hand from up his sleeve and flick out toward Severus.  Without having proper time to react, Severus slammed into the wall.  His unconscious form slid to the floor in a heap.  Anne was furious, "Mess with him, mess with me."  Eddwords chuckled, "My dear girl- whatever can you do?"  Little did he realize that he had begun to hover a few feet off the ground.  Anne's right hand jerked upwards and he flew to the ceiling, "This is what I can do."  He gasped and then thundered at her, "Put me down, this isn't fair fighting! You CAN'T do this!"  Anne held him there, "Gee, you want fair, well it isn't fair to assault folks who you don't even know just because of your moronic assumptions either!  And yes," she flicked her wrist and sent him through the window, "I CAN!"  She twisted her wrist down and then bounced it up a hair.  She heard Eddwords curse as he fell from the window and stopped inches from the ground.  She went to the window and shouted at him, "Go to hell, because you aren't going anywhere else, bastard," and let him free fall the inches to the ground.

As Anne turned back into the room, she heard Severus moan, he was coming back to consciousness.  Anne hurried over to him and helped him sit up.  She wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the sleeve of her black Puritan dress.  He dazedly attempted to speak as she held him close and gently tipped his head onto her shoulder, "Hush dear, don't try to speak yet, it's over, keep still."  He rested for a few moments before pulling away, slightly uncomfortable, and attempting to stand.  He rose slowly with her aid and leaned on her shoulder to keep his balance.  Albus pushed open the door and looked them each in the eyes, "Care to explain?"  Anne shook her head, "Not now- confine Eddwords- he's outside- the charges against him are physical assault and defamation of character.  Severus and I are headed to the medical wing," she turned to Severus, "no protests accepted," and back to Albus, "and then we'll see about talk."  Anne aided Severus out of the room while Albus watched a shaken Eddwords dust himself off.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was cancelled for Wednesday and Eddwords confessed to everything, although he wasn't sorry for a bit of it.  Anne cancelled her classes on Thursday and Friday so that she could help Severus teach Eddwords' class.  On Monday, Albus took over teaching so that Anne and Severus could each concentrate on their own work.  Anne set her students to the task on compiling a small paper about their families.  She was informed on Tuesday that the Ministry would be coming to talk to her on Friday.  Nervously she watched her students work all week. 

Friday came all too quickly for Anne.  She entered Albus' office promptly at one o'clock for the interview.  She was motioned to her by Snape to stand beside him.  She surveyed the faces in front of her.  Minerva and Albus were seated with three men.  Albus rose, "Anne, this is Cornelius Fudge, Arthur Weasley, and Amos Diggory.  Arthur and Amos were chosen at random to come and hear these proceedings.  I presume that you remember that this committee has been assembled to clear your name of the associations that you had with the Dark Arts?"  She nodded, "Indeed."  Albus nodded, "Then you may be seated."  Fudge began the meeting, "Please state the following details for the purpose of these proceedings.  These are strictly for the record.  Amos?"  Diggory nodded, "State your name, date of birth, and age."  Anne replied, "Annelise Marrion Schetzek, October thirty-first, twenty five."  Fudge was watching as Weasley scribbled down the information she gave.  Diggory continued, "Nicknames used in during work in the Dark Arts?"  "I was called Lise Matthews while working and Marri Schetzek while running."  More scribbling, "State your citizenship and that of all immediate family."  "My immediate family is all in America, my citizenship is dually in England and America, and my child's parentage gives her citizenship to both Ireland and France."  Diggory waited for Weasley to finish scrawling everything down.  "Current marital status?"  Anne blinked a few times and sighed, "Widowed."  Diggory paused a moment, "I'm sorry miss, could you please tell me the name of the deceased?"  She proudly regarded those in front of her, not noticing the slightly surprised look on Severus' face, "Jonathan Adrian Schetzek, three years my senior and every bit the gentleman."  Amos cleared his throat, "I'm sorry, but I have to ask a few details about Mr. Schetzek.  Where was he born, what was his citizenship, and when were you married?"  Anne nodded, "He was born in Cambridge, he was fully English in his citizenship, and we were married June eighth of my nineteenth year.  He died the next day..." a tear sprang up in her eye and she quickly wiped it away.  There was an awkward silence before Fudge continued the questioning, "What did you do during your time in the Dark Arts?"  Anne stated, "Potions."  Fudge wanted more information, "Are you willing to give us the names of your co-workers?"  Anne smiled, "No."  Everyone paused.  Albus smiled, he looked like he expected this.  Fudge was very puzzled, "Why not?"  Anne elaborated, "There are two reasons, the first being that if I told you, then those you apprehended and their master would know that it was I who told you.  The second reason would be that some of them are still clueless as to what exactly they are doing there, especially some of the lower ranks in the potions department.  They must learn on their own and chose their path.  Rending them from the only life that they know without their being aware of the true reason for your doing so, it is not right."  Fudge shook his head, "Perhaps you do not fully realize the severity of these proceedings..."  Anne's bright eyes glimmered, "I fully understand what I am doing and I ask that you think on how you would handle the same situation, should the roles be reversed."  A dead silence hung in the room for a moment until Weasley broke through, "Miss Schetzek?"  She smiled, "Yes?"  He continued the questions, "Would you care to tell this committee of all your tasks undertaken while working for the Dark Arts?"  She bowed her head, "No.  I do not wish to delve into a past of which I an ashamed."  Fudge cut in, "Then you are repentant?"  She regained her soft smile, "Yes, but nevertheless, good has come of it all.  God had a purpose for me there."  He looked puzzled again, "What is that supposed to mean?"  Anne explained herself, "Well, if I had never begun my studies with the old man in Cambridge, then I wouldn't have ever studied with the Dark Arts and I would have never learned wizardry.  I discovered true loss with the death of my husband and later sister.  Then I gained a daughter, ran, and in running I saw all of Éire and England on a very personal level.  I made it here; I found that I could use what I learned to continue growing and to hold a place in wizardry society.  I have indirectly found my place because I dared to study with the strange old man in Cambridge."  Diggory smiled and faced Snape, "Professor Severus Snape, all in this room are aware of your previous work in the Dark Arts.  Based on your observations and interactions with Miss Schetzek, has she renounced her former life in favour of her new one based on her experiences?"  In a heartbeat he answered, "Yes."  Fudge nodded, "This session is over."  Anne rose and shook the hands of her interviewers.  She turned to thank Severus only to find that he had already disappeared.

Anne scurried as quickly as she could to her chambers only to be met by an enthusiastic Angel, "Mum!  I tried to find out what happened from Mr. Snape, but he wouldn't let me into his room.  What happened?"  Anne knelt down to Angel's eye level, "I'm cleared, they asked a lot of questions and all, but I guess that was it."  Angel's eyes lit up, "No more running?"  Anne broke into a grin, "Nope, we're here to stay."  Angel jumped into her mother's arms, knocking her over, "Really?!  YES!"  Anne managed to stand and Angel dashed at her.  Anne swung her daughter around her and lightly lit her on her feet, "Celebrate, Angel babe?"  Angel's face turned playfully serious, "Only if it included ice cream."  Anne nodded, "Just a moment."  She knocked on Snape's door.  He yanked it open and greeted the pair with a scowl, "What do you want?"  Anne's mood dampened, "Sorry Professor," and she turned Angel toward the stairs.  He tilted his head, "For?"  "Disturbing you," she replied softly.  He was not satisfied with the lack of knowledge that he possessed, "What were you knocking for?"  Angel ducked under her mother's arm and stood in front of him, "Mum an' I wanted to know if you wanted to go and get ice cream with us in celebration of Mum's official freedom from the Dark Arts."  He began to close the door, "No."  Anne beckoned to Angel, "Come on love, let's leave the Professor to his devisings."

That evening before Dinner, Anne arrived at her chamber door to find a note tacked to the door,

"Miss Schetzek, please meet with me as soon as possible. ~Severus Snape"

Anne entered her room, placed the note on the table, and pulled her emerald cardigan over her black dress.  She made her way to his office and waited for him to acknowledge her presence, "Miss Schetzek, or should I say Mrs. Schetzek, be seated.  You do still realize that you are not out of danger from the Dark Lord?"  Anne nodded, "Yes, both Angelique and I realize this.  It is easier to live life knowing that there is someone to help fight the battle if it comes to that; I am happy in knowing that there are folks to help me protect my child."  He hmpf'ed, "May I ask you a more personal question?"  She nodded, "Shoot."  He watched her intently, "How did your husband die?"  Anne bit her lip, "I'm sorry...," she wiped a tear from her cheek, "I...he...."  Severus rose and placed a hand on her left shoulder, "Anne?" she raised her face to meet his gaze, "Tell me when you are ready."  She nodded, "Thank you."  For a brief moment he nearly smiled, "Will you be all right?"  She nodded again," Yes, thank you; I should find Angel- heaven only knows where she is off to...”  He nodded as she left the room.  "This answer might not come for a bit of a time," he thought.

The weekend vanished quietly, Severus listening intently to his neighbours on Sunday as they sang together.  This time another voice joined them.  It was deeper, richer, and had more of a Gospel edge to it than either Anne or Angel's voices.  He swore that he had heard it somewhere before.  Through the wall he heard the voice begin a hymn.  The others joined the new voice:

I've got love like the ocean
I've got love like the ocean
I've got love like the ocean in my soul
I've got love like the ocean
I've got love like the ocean
I've got love like the ocean in my soul

Severus shook his head, how could any of them be so content?  Perhaps the new voice had a reason, but the others?  Anne, who taught unruly students day after day and somehow had the patience to council them in her spare time, and Angel, an orphan without any other family and no one her age around to talk to, she only had a few companions and only a few possessions.  He found it odd that a family who had so little physically seemed so content, so rich, and so happy.  He sighed; it had to be the other voice that brought such joy to the music.  A burst of laughter rang out from next door, "And that's all for today- let's have some fun!  Girl time!"  Angel had spoken.  Anne began to sing:

Angel smiled, "Yeah, whatever- what about this one?

The other voice began to sing without introduction or explanation:

Angel burst into laughter, "Great one Jade- definitely a chick song."  Severus nodded, Jade, it made sense, her speaking voice held the same rich quality that he had just heard in her singing.  She was very attached to Angel and Anne; it was no wonder that she would chose to join in their family events.  Then he stopped, wasn't one of them supposed to have contributed the joy to the hymn he had heard?  Jade didn't have that wonderful of a life either, how could it have been her?  Severus was stumped; who had sang so joyfully and why?  Who had the reason?

Meanwhile, in the other room, Anne, Angel, and Jade sat laughing at the table, slouching in the chairs and tossing a beanbag at each other.  Angel climbed up on the table and began to dance to the music that Anne had on her laptop.  Jade joined her and they danced to everything from the songs of Éire to Pink and No Doubt.  Anne took a picture with Jade's camera as a knock came from the door.  Jade and Angel jumped from the table as Anne answered the door.  Angel turned down the music, "Who is it, mum?"  Anne smiled and turned from her guest, "It's Professor Snape, dear.  Jade, Angel- work on picking up all that stuff you two dumped off the table.”  She turned to him, "Sorry- after the service they had a little too much fun.  What do you need?"  He shook his head, "I was just wondering why the singing was louder this morning.  You seemed especially happy."  Anne shrugged, "The increase in volume is due to Jade's joining us.  I don't know why the up in joy- but today just seemed like the day to sing out and laugh loud.  Really, how joy hits is a mystery to us all."  Anne heard a shout from behind her and massive giggling.  She turned around to find Jade and Angel engaged in a fierce tickle war.  Jade was clearly winning; Anne turned back to Severus and shrugged, "I don't know what has gotten into them...it must be the warmer weather outside or something.  Do you want to take a walk or something?"  He shook his head, "No, I have work to do and an exam to write."  Without another word he turned on his heels and left.  Anne returned to the girls, "All right you two, let's clean up this mess and then Angel, get on some old clothes and you girls go play outside."  In ten minutes the papers were restored to the table and the girls were racing up the stairs, ready to go and continue their battle outdoors.

Monday came and Anne gave her class the final exam preparation:  find some topic that had been covered this year and either report on it or demonstrate it in front of the class.  The rest of the week was given over to the students as free time to do as they wished, with the reminder that their work would be due in about three weeks on June twelfth, whether they liked it or not.  On Friday, Anne noticed that Jade and Holli had been scheming all hour.  They approached her at the end of class, "Anne, Jade and I have been thinking...can we have a ball at the end of the year?"  Anne smiled, "A ball- formal I take it?" Holli nodded, "Sounds like a great idea- I will talk to Albus and Minerva tomorrow and see if we can find a date, time, and place.  See me on Monday for details."  The girls high-fived each other and scampered back to their haunt.

Saturday, May thirty-first, Anne approached Minerva with the idea, "Minerva?  There have been a few requests this week that we have a ball at the end of the year.  I was thinking that it could be held on the Saturday a week from today.  Do you think we could pull it off and that Albus would like the idea?"  Minerva smiled, "Anne, I think that is a wonderful plan.  I will accompany you to Albus' office so that we can both endorse the idea."

On Monday, June second, Anne held her class outside in the beautiful sunlight.  Holli and Jade were nervous to here Anne's news.  Anne winked at them when they asked her about it, "I think that Albus will have something to say about it tonight during dinner, but you will have to wait just like everyone else to see what that announcement is...."

The entire school gathered for dinner as they did every day.  Jade sat at the end of the Slytherin table closest to Holli and they both often turned and grinned to one another.  Angel noticed this but did not question- if Jade had something planned, it was sure to be fun.  Albus stood up as Anne slipped into her seat, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a special announcement to make.  Due to the enthusiasm with which this idea was presented to me, Hogwarts will be having an end of the year ball.  This formal event will take place at the end of this week on Saturday.  Anne will be assembling a decorating committee, anyone wishing to help, please see her.  That is all."  A cheer rose up from the students, wild yelps heard above all of them from the throats of Jade and Holli.  Anne grinned; she had wonderful plans for decorations...

The week went by in a flash; students were preparing for final exams the next week and Anne was meeting with the decorating committee every day after her outdoor class had finished.  Angel was excited about the dance too and kept hinting that her mother should try to find a date and that date should be Professor Snape.  Anne ignored the little comments and worked tirelessly on overseeing the painting of banners and on her own dress.  She knew that Angel would want a gown for this event too, rather than just her dress robes.  It was June, and the Great Hall was sure to get warm; Angel would want something light.  On Friday morning at four o'clock, Anne finished the last few stitches on Angel's new dress.  It was simple, a medieval under-dress with a full black over-skirt and a simple black bodice, laced up the front with black lacings.  Anne sighed; her own dress was far from begun.  She dug through her clothes chest; trying to find something she could alter to be formal enough for the event. She pulled out a streamline midnight blue velvet dress with spaghetti straps, and a silver vine and leaf pattern running up one side.  Anne paused at the recollection of the last time she had worn the dress.  She had been teaching her first observed day of classes and had been interrupted by the Malfoys.  Anne sighed, it was a pretty dress and it was useless to keep it around if she was never going to wear it again.  She tossed it on her table and began to think what she would have to do to the dress to make it perfect.  Something would have to be done about covering her arm and she needed to edit the skirt.  She sighed and tossed it back into the box; there were too many alterations and too little time to do them in.  She went back to scavenging through the cedar chest until she found a long black dress, full in skirt and strapless.  The dress needed work, but Anne thought that the silken gown would do well with a little love.  She set to work, hoping that it would be finished before breakfast that morning.

Angel awoke and slid down the rope ladder from her loft.  She smiled at her mother asleep on the table and gently shook her slumbering form, "Mum, wake up- you have to go to breakfast with me this morning."  Anne groaned, "What time is it?"  Angel sighed, "It's nearly eight, so time to get up."  Anne pulled her hair back and gathered her basket of toiletries, "Breakfast first, then shower- dress is done, you can try it on tonight and then we can alter it if need be.  I almost got mine finished..."  Anne was slightly dazed from her lack of sleep and stumbled up to the Great Hall to find a cup of coffee.  After eating and showering, Anne went back to work on her dress.  She finished it just before her class was scheduled to meet and rushed outside to teach.  She had been using her class time to have the students help her plan and work on the decorations and details for the ball.  Even Malfoy had been helping out, seeing that Anne threatened to drop his grades if he refused.  After class, Anne was confronted with a problem; only five other staff members had stated that they would be willing to help chaperone the event.  Anne knew from all her experiences back in America that any event with teenagers required at least one chaperone for every ten students.  With that statistic in mind, only sixty students would be properly watched.  She had recruiting to do, so she asked Angel for help, "Hon, Albus, Minerva, Poppy, Hagrid, and Madame Sprout have told me that they would chaperone this thing.  I need you to draft more help, but leave Severus out of this- I'm going to ask him before I return to my stitching."  Angel winked at Anne, "Yeah, I figured.  You so have a thing for him."  Anne raised her eyebrows, "Whatever you say, little lady, whatever you say."

Anne paused a slight second before knocking on the door to the Potions room.  She knew that he would most likely refuse, but as Angel had learned earlier in the year, it never killed anyone to ask.  She knocked and heard him hail her from within, "Yes?"  She answered, "Anne here- may I come in?”  He replied, "Yes."  Anne entered the room and gently closed the door behind her, "I have a question for you."  He looked up from the pile of papers which he was so intently grading, "Hmmm?"  She leaned on a desk, "Would you be willing to help chaperone the Spring Formal on Saturday?"  He set down his quill and leaned back in the large leather desk chair, "That's tomorrow."  Anne shirked back a bit and sheepishly admitted, "Yeah, I know...but we need chaperones or else Jade and Holli will have my head."  He shrugged and blatantly stated, "I hate dances-"  Anne sighed, "I take it that's a 'no'."  "-but if I must, then I will chaperone," he continued.  Anne stopped, her face lit up, "Then I will see you there at seven thirty?"  He picked up his quill, "Is that when it begins?"  Anne shook her head, "No, it starts at eight, but you want to be there before the students arrive.  Come in through the back door up on the teacher's platform- there will be a teeming mass of students awaiting admittance through the front."  He nodded and returned to his work; Anne turned to leave, "Have a nice night, Severus."  He scribbled a few slashes on a student's paper, "You too, Anne."

Anne sat at her table staring at the dress she was altering.  She had sewn up holes in the layers of petticoats that would lie under the skirt and she had fixed the hemlines that had been torn out of the skirt.  She had added a sort of collar that blended into the off-shoulder straps of the dress, neatly hiding her arm if she did not move.  Since Anne fully intended on dancing, she knew that she would have to include another safeguard against her arm being exposed.  Even though her students were comfortable with her not covering her Dark Mark, there were a few who were not thrilled with having the reminder constantly in view.  As a courtesy to the others around her, Anne would shield her Mark from view.  She once again dug into the cedar chest and this time found a long black silk scarf with gold stars stitched into the fabric.  She smiled; she would simply tie it around her arm as decoration, which would suffice for her outfit.  She draped her dress over a chair and dug back into the cedar chest; there was a beautiful bolt of emerald green velvet on the bottom of the chest, and she had the perfect idea of what to do with it.

Anne slept until noon on Saturday and then rushed off to shower and gather her decorating committee in the Great Hall.  To her surprise, they were already hard at work with Angel holding her mother's design plans.  Anne smiled and jumped into the fray, they had a bit of work to do before eight o'clock.

Precisely at seven thirty, Severus entered the Great Hall through the back door and onto the platform.  Anne motioned for him to come down to where she was sitting, so he quickly joined her.  As soon as he sat down beside her, she handed him an emerald bundle, "Here, I found the material last night..."  He pulled the silver bow with which she had tied the bundle and unfolded a beautiful set of robes, "Anne...they're beautiful...you made these?"  Anne shrugged sheepishly and shyly spoke, "Yeah, I did...so, um, try them on, see if they fit...they'll go on over your black robes..."  He rose and pulled the robes on, Anne helping him to tug the sleeves of his black robes through the large openings in the side of the garment.  He sat down and smoothed his hands over the material, "You embroider also?"  She nodded as he traced his fingers over the delicate silver leaf motif that traced its way around the hem of the robes, up the open front, and along the neckline.  The robes were held shut with a silver clasp in the shape of a coiled serpent.  She broke the silence, "If they're too long I can hem them up..."  He shook his head, "Not at all, they're perfect.  Thank you."  She was sure that she nearly saw him smile at her.  She sighed as the music faded up to loud and the students began to file in.  Anne leaned back on the bench and listened as Livin' on the Edge blasted from the speaker system that she had rigged earlier that day, "This promises to be one hell of a night..."

About an hour and a half later and neither of them had left their bench.  Anne smiled; the song was one that she knew well, "Severus, would you care to dance?"  He shrugged, "Why not, I might as well since I'm stuck here."  He rose and led her to the dance floor.  Angel, watching from a distance, grinned.  Severus was curious, "Why did you wait so long to get up?  Why not earlier?"  She smiled, "I take my time getting comfortable in social situations and I love this song.  Angel and I used to sing the chorus together while we were on the road.

Anyone perfect must be lying;
Anything easy has its cost.
Anyone plain can be lovely,
Anyone loved can be lost.
What if I lost my direction?
What if I lost a sense of time?
What if I nursed this infection?
Maybe the worst is behind.
Feels just like I'm falling for the first time!"

He hmpf'ed, it almost seemed like she had been singing directly to him; it was slightly eerie.  He immediately disregarded his conjecture and continued dancing until the end of the song.  He escorted her back to the bench as the students began to dance to The Train.  Anne settled back against the wall as he stated, "I have never liked this kind of music."  Anne nodded, "Back in America, this was the best music you got at a school dance, everything else was, as my best friend Britta called it, 'Piece of Crap Rap'.  This song is fun for Angel though, so we play it once in a while when she needs to burn off extra energy.  It works well."  He did not respond.  She stared at the students scattered around the Great Hall and felt herself getting philosophical, "Look at them all out there, so naive about what they will have to face someday in the world 'out there'."  Severus nodded, "So sure of their weak selves..."  Anne picked up the conversation, "It's odd for me to think that at one time I was just like them, free from anything that could haunt me except if I had a crush on Britta's current boyfriend or not."  He shook his head, "It is odd to teach them some days also.  Knowing that they will never really know what hell is until they've been there."  "They think they know what they will face, they think they know what hell really is," Anne continued, "but it's not having exams coming, it's seeing your loved ones die because of what you are involved in, it's working for someone you know owns your soul, it's knowing that the only way out is either death or running, it's having to abandon what you have known for so long for the sake of your sanity at the risk of your life, and it is that feeling of no control over anything in your life that you think matters.  That's what hell is, and not a single one of these kids have any idea what is out there just waiting to pounce the second they seem weak."  Severus stared at her for a moment, "Good Lord Anne, that was wise."  Anne smiled, "Yeah, it just comes to me sometimes.  Weird, eh?"  The song ended and Severus sighed, "Not at all...."  There was a moment's pause and then a slight commotion on the dance floor.

The commotion was near Jade, there was little surprise in that.  She stood in the centre of a mass of students, "Anyone here know how to swing dance?"  Draco raised his hand, "Anyone besides Malfoy?"  Zack stepped forward, "I do."  Jade grinned, "The next song is Zoot Suit Riot- you want to be my partner?”  He shrugged, "What about Ginny?"  Jade turned and winked to the little redhead, "Don't worry honey, I'm not out to steal your man, I just need to borrow him for a song."  Ginny smiled as the song began and a ring of students formed around Jade and Zack.

Angel ran excitedly to Anne, "Mum, you have absolutely got to come and see what Jade is doing out here, it is amazing!"  Anne raised an eyebrow, "What is she doing?  Or shouldn't I ask?"  Angel dragged her mother out to the circle of students.  Anne elbowed her way into the mass of students and watched in astonishment as Zack did a lift and Jade lightly landed behind him.  They spun and dipped until there was no doubt who the dance authority in the room was.

After the song ended, Anne made her way back to Severus and lit upon the bench, "They were swing dancing."  He hmpf'ed, "Figured as much."  They sat silently as the next song began to play.

Anne sighed, "Why oh why do they have to play this song?" she asked herself.  She stared at her hands for a moment shook her head.  Severus noticed an odd little look on her face, "Is something wrong?"  Anne forced a sweet smile onto her face, "No, not really, I just remember that this song was one that Jon and I used to play during classes at Cambridge- we would slip mp3 players into the room and these really tiny headphones that the professors wouldn't notice and, especially during math and chemistry when there were huge numbers of students in the classes, we would sit and listen to music instead of listening to boring lectures on irrelevant stuff."  She paused a moment to reflect and found that when she returned to reality that Severus had very gently taken her hand.  She smiled and leaned against him, noting to herself that he did not seem to mind it too much.  At the end of the song she sat up and waited for the music to begin again. 

Anne shook her head and looked Severus in the eye, "I...have to go get a breath of air."  She rose, "Too many memories..."  Severus watched as she wove her way through the mass of students and out of the Great Hall.  He searched the room with his gaze until he found Albus.  He stood and made his way over to Dumbledore, "Excuse me, Albus?  Anne had to leave the dance, are there still enough chaperones for this event if I go and find out what ails her?"  The kindly headmaster smiled, "Of course you can go, the entire staff is here to watch the students; we have plenty of supervision.”  Severus nodded and made his way from the room, "I thought that she said they were in desperate need of chaperones for this event..."

Anne had walked as far as the Entry Hall and stopped there to open the door and feel the warm night air comfort her with its embrace.  She gazed out at the ten o'clock stars peering out from the dark blanket of the night sky, "God, what is going on here?  I thought that it was long enough ago that I could cope with that song!"  She sighed and sang softly to herself,

"Hold on, hold on to yourself
'Cause this is gonna hurt like hell
Hold on, hold on to yourself
You know that only time will tell...

I have got to keep these emotions together!"  She did not hear the quietly treading footfalls coming from behind her.  She began to sing a modified version of the song that had hurt her in the Great Hall,

Anne slowly sank to the floor, soft, muffled sobs issuing from her weary soul.  The footfalls behind her resumed, little to Anne's knowledge, and nearly passed her before the figure knelt beside her.  She felt arms gently embrace her and pull her close as she let her tears freely fall.  She buried her face in the shoulder of her comforter and let herself cry until her grief subsided.  She opened her eyes and for the first time noticed that the shoulder she was crying on was draped in emerald velvet.  Anne brought her eyes to meet those of her friend and found that she met the gaze of Severus Snape.  He helped her to rise and took her hands in his, "Anne, are you going to be all right?  What's wrong?"  She shook her head and cast her eyes to the stars, "It's about Jon."  He prompted her to continue, "Go on."  She sighed, "Going on could mean I dive into a very long story."  He nodded, "If it will help you to deal with the situation, then please, tell.”  Anne hmpf'ed, "Thanks.  Jonathan and I met when I first came to Cambridge just before my eighteenth birthday.  It was a difficult adjustment for me to make, I was in a new country without any family or friends and no one to talk to in the least bit.  He made it so much easier.  We came to enjoy a friendship, and eventually we discovered that we were meant to be with each other.  We eloped the next year, after the end of the school year.  I didn't care that he wasn't a wizard, and he didn't mind that I was one, after all, his aunt was a witch and it wasn't an odd thing for him to see magic.  Anyway, we decided that since he had to drive his mother to the country to visit his aunt that evening, we would celebrate our wedding the night after.  I was quite excited and after the wedding I went back to the communal house that those of us studying the Dark Arts shared and fell asleep dreaming of the future.  I hid both the engagement ring and the wedding ring on a long gold chain that I have not worn in years.  The entire plan of ours seemed so secret and so safe.  The next night I went to his home and unlocked the front door as usual.  I called his name and he didn't respond.  I thought that perhaps he was trying to be funny and would surprise me at one of the hallways.  I called again as I went upstairs, but still no answer met my ears.  I pushed open the door of his bedroom and heard that song Angel playing on his stereo.  There were candles on the nightstand, a bottle of wine, and two crystal challises, but Jon was nowhere to be found.  I stepped farther into the room and...nearly tripped over his dead body.  I felt ill as I called the police and reported what I had found.  There was no blood in the room, but I couldn't stay there for long.  I waited for them and after they came I left.  I hid my tears that night as I cried myself to sleep.  In the morning I awoke to the bright sun and a hopeless day.  Jon's mother let me take whatever I wanted from the room, so I took the crystal challises, the bottle of wine, and the candles from the nightstand.  Years later my sister was killed by Dark Wizards 'for my own good'.  I was furious and depressed at the same time.  I began to suspect that perhaps Jon had been murdered for the same reasons.  I tried to check the records, but I was caught.  I told the man who caught me that I was making sure that the LeFay case had been correctly dealt with.  The next morning I awoke to the smell of smoke.  In the centre of the room the challises were crushed around the smouldering remains of the candles.  The bottle was empty and its contents were spilled around the mess of glass.  That bottle is the only thing besides the rings that I have left- it is the bottle that holds the taper on my table.  I packed all my belongings into my car and spoke loudly about selling it all.  I lied; it all went to Jon's mother, Elenore, who promised to hold onto it for me.  I spoke to the aunt, Chloë, about the situation and about my suspicions.  She had already thought that it was Dark Magic that had killed him and told me that if I was bothered by the Dark Arts now that it had stolen my love from me that I was capable of deciding to go into hiding.  That night I went once again to check the files.  I was quick enough that I found him in a matter of minutes.  I left.  I couldn't live with the fact that my boss had ordered the execution of my husband.  I adopted Angel, and ended up here, staying in humble cottages and cathedrals as we travelled, singing and laughing as we made our way on foot to wherever we wished to go.  We fancied ourselves like Wordsworth, walking to reunite with the natural world of which we were a part.  I learned so much about myself and I think that I am better off because of it all.  I may not have my family back in America, but I have a daughter and a friend-family.  I am slowly trying to let the past fade into the back of my mind so that I can move on, but as Angel often sees, it is not that easy to do some days, and that song still bothers me."  She dropped his hands and closed the door which she had left open through her story.  She abruptly changed the topic, "I'm going to go and get some sleep."  He tilted his head inquiringly, "Do you wish for me to walk you to your chambers?"  She let a sad smile creep across her lips, "I would very much like that." 

They silently walked together and stopped outside her door.  He drew her close to him and for a few moments she surrendered to the embrace.  As she pulled away, he gently framed her face with his hands and gave her a small kiss.  She thought that she felt her heart stop beating for a moment.  She could read the intentions of the kiss clearly; he wasn't trying to overshadow her memories or make her forget Jonathan, he was simply confirming that there was nothing that she had to hide from him and that he would always be there for her, even if he did not act like it when the students were around.  She smiled, "Thank you."  There was a pause, "Severus, would you like to come in for a cup of tea?"  He smiled genuinely; the first time he had smiled at her, "I would be very honoured to be your guest, Annelise."  She opened the door to her chambers and, with a wave of her hand, she lit the torches, "Watch where you step, I don't know where the cat is sleeping.  Take a seat, I'll put the kettle on and find the teacups I have in here somewhere."  She opened her sea chest and removed a beautiful copper teakettle which she filled from a jar of water she had sitting beside the chest.  She hung the kettle over a torch and proceeded to produce two black porcelain teacups and matching saucers with gold trim from the trunk.  She plucked two tea caddies from a little pouch on the inside of the chest and brought the whole thing to the table, along with a box of tea, "Sorry that the cups are so plain, but is the nicest I could afford when I was on the road."  He shrugged, "I think they are lovely."  She opened the box of tea and filled the caddies, "Oh, glad you like them.  Do you want the little car or the little house tea caddie?"  He glanced at them both, "The house, if you don't mind."  She nodded, "Good choice."  He raised an eyebrow, "Oh, why is that?"  She grinned, "I like the car- Cadillac, 1959 Eldorado Seville- beautiful car.  Chloë has the one I used to drive."  The teakettle whistled, "Oh, tea's done, I'll get that...."  Anne poured the water and they sat in silence for a moment as the tea steeped.  A knock came at the door.  Anne sipped her tea, "Who is it?"  A tired voice replied, "Angel."  Anne set down her tea and opened the door, "What is the trouble, love?"  Angel yawned, "Too tired, and the dance seems to be getting uncomfortable for me.  Everyone's with their sweetheart and there I was sitting on a bench and starring into the crowd.  No-one was asking me to dance, so I decided to leave."  Anne smiled, "I know how that feels, child." she knelt down in front of Angel, "That was the same way all my high school dances ended up.  Do you want to go to bed or sit up a while?"  Angel sighed, "Can I read your Hamlet?"  Anne rose and tousled her daughter's red hair, "Go and get into your pyjamas while I try to find it."  Angel headed to the corner with the screen drawn across it and on the way noticed Professor Snape for the first time, "Oh, hi P'fessor."  He nodded to her, "Hello Angelique."  Anne helped Angel pull off her dress and get into her night shorts and shirt.  Angel headed to the loft while Anne found the book, "Mum?"  "Yeah hon?  What do you need?" Anne asked.  Angel leaned over the edge, "Where's 'Trina?"  Anne motioned to her hammock, "The cat is over there."  Angel glanced at the cat and then back at her mother, "Can you bring her up here too?"  Anne picked up Angel's little friend and placed the cat on top of her shoulder.  Anne climbed up the rope ladder with both book and cat and deposited them with Angel, "Thanks Mum," she blearily managed to say.  Anne kissed Angel goodnight and climbed down to rejoin Severus at the table, "That there is my full time job- keeping her safe and happy."  Severus sighed, "That must be difficult."  She shrugged, "It is, but there isn't another thing in the world that I would rather do than share my knowledge and life with Angelique- not that there aren't other things that I dream of doing someday, but they all include her," she paused, "Tell me about your family- any children?"  He poured himself another cup of tea, "Before we get to the question you just posed, I have one to ask you."  She sipped her tea, "Shoot."  "Why did you say that you were so desperate for chaperones when the entire staff was there?"  Anne tossed her hair back over her shoulder, "At the time when I asked you there were too few folks willing to watch the students."  He continued, "Then why didn't you let me know when my services were no longer needed?"  She blushed slightly and stared into her teacup, "Well...I don't really have many opportunities for social interaction with other people in my position.  I'm lonely, Severus- dances are hard for me alone, so I wanted a friend there I could talk to.  I thought you would understand that."  He nodded, "It's all right, I do- after a while you get used to not having companions, as I have."  Anne repeated her question, "Back to my inquisition- about your family?"  He leaned his elbows on the table, "Well, you know that 'Nessa is dead, I told you about Robert, the only other sibling I have is Adelaide, and she blames me for the wrongs of the world.  She is the youngest of all of us and her child, Jadelyn, was born when Adelaide was sixteen years of age.  Mother has been dead since shortly after I joined the Dark Arts from the same causes that 'Nessa died from.  Nigel, my father, disowned me just before my mother died.  I have no family, so to speak."  Anne sighed, "I'm sorry to hear that.  On the topic of Nigel and Jade, Jade invited Angelique and me to come home with her this summer- she said that Nigel approved and that it would be a wonderful thing to hear laughter in the house.  We will probably accept the offer, seeing as there is nowhere else for us to go.  I'll put in a good word or two for you, eh?"  He finished his tea, "Thank you.  I should probably be getting up to Slytherin house, it is nearly ten-thirty and I think that the students will be a bit out of control after the dance ends at eleven."  She smiled and rose with him, "Good luck," they walked to the door together, "Thank you for letting me dump all that on you, I'm sorry that it was a bit of a damper on the gaiety of the night, but thank you for listening anyway.  All in all, I think that this was a wonderful night."  He smiled and nodded, "Goodnight Anne."  She nodded and as she closed the door she replied, "Goodnight, Severus."

Anne returned to the table for a moment.  Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice from the loft, "So?"  Anne sighed, "'So' what?"  Angel peeked over the edge of the loft and watched her mother, "What is going on with you two?"  Anne untied the scarf around her arm, "We are friends, Angel, and you know that."  Angel nodded, "He kissed you, didn't he?"  Anne blushed, "You could tell, couldn't you?  Because you're a seer, you could tell."  Angel grinned, "Yup.  I think I can see my winnings falling into my purse by the end of the summer, rather than at Beltane next year."  Anne went behind the screen to dress for bed, "Don't get started on that again."  Angel continued, "Annelise Marrion Snape, I kinda like that...."  Anne came out from behind the screen and slid into her hammock and sarcastically said, "Oh just shut up and go to sleep."  Angel was still watching Anne, "You forgot to put away the tea things."  "Angel, I'll get it in the morning; go to sleep," Anne replied.  Angel wasn't ready to end the discussion, "Yeah, 'cause you're too preoccupied by thoughts of dear Severus."  Anne rolled her eyes and turned over to face the wall, "I'm not listening."  Angel grinned, "That's because his voice is still ringing in your ears...."  Anne glanced over her shoulder at Angel, who was staring at the ceiling with the cat on her stomach, "Angel, I would recommend going to sleep before I have to cut your curfew even shorter."  Angel laughed, "Love you too, Mum."  Anne smiled, "You too, hon."  Angel gave her mother her Cheshire cat grin, "And Severus."  Anne sighed, "I just can't win against a full blood Celt, can I?"  Angel turned over to go to sleep, "Not in the least bit."

The weekend had vanished before Anne noticed.  Monday began exam week.  Anne decided that her class would be working on their presentations all week in an open lab style class period that would occur from four to six each day.  She also worked with a small group of students who wanted to do a Broadway review as a final presentation to their classmates. 

On Friday, each of Anne's students presented a little something. 

Students and their Projects

Anne had a wonderful time grading all the reports and watching all the presentations.  Angel had joined her and decided that the Weasley twins' accounts of the Eddwords' situation were hilarious.  Jade agreed that she had good taste in comedy.  As a fun ending, Angel presented a little blip.  She presented a photographic history of pranking, including things that reacted with newt eyes consisting of the pictures that Jadelyn had managed to take during Jade's stunt there.  Her list covered every prank that she had served witness too, with the permission of the perpetrators as to what information was allowed to be released.  She left the class in uproarious laughter. 

That night at Dinner, the students who had wanted to do a Broadway review cleared the Head Table off its platform before everyone ate and assembled the crowd in front of them.  Anne had been invited to sing with them and their enthusiasm had spread like wildfire through their friends.  They sang with the emotions of the scenes that they were portraying, igniting the audience.  The total cast consisted of Jadelyn, Holli, Hermione, Ron, Harry, Neville, Ginny, and Anne.

At the end of the show, massive cheers sprang from the crowd.  They took their bows and then invited the entire audience to join them in singing the finale from Les Miserables.  After that, Jade held the cast onstage for a moment, "As usual, we couldn't have done this all on our own.  Anne once again gave us the capacity for our performance.   This woman gave us stage direction, musical instruction, ideas for our antics for each sequence and inspiration.  I hope that all of you out there who have had contact with her this year realize what a gift of wisdom this teacher is to Hogwarts.  She may not teach us things that will aid in our wizardry, but she teaches us love, understanding, and other life skills that we will never forget.  She lets us breathe, she lets us express our creativity, and she is always there for each and every one of us if we ever need anything.  She is a schemer and a dreamer.  I know that she will be back here next year in some amount.  Before we all get on to the feast, we would like to ask that Anne sing something for us.  She has given very few of us here the gift of her voice, but I would like to ask that she share it once and for all with the masses.  Anne, we have your music stash on hand, what do you wish to grace us with this evening?"  Anne took centre stage, "Play-list six, track eight."  Jade found the song and let it go.

Thank you all!  I look forward to seeing you all next year!"  Anne stepped down into the mass of students as the performers placed the Head Table back in its proper position. 

Saturday the students left for their homes.  Anne sent Angel home and her things with Jadelyn and she waited until the staff went home to leave the school.  The staff relaxed all day Sunday, and Monday morning they departed. 

Anne was loading her things into the train that would take her to London where Jade had promised Nigel would meet her when Severus called to her, "Anne, a moment?"  She finished pushing her sea chest into the compartment and jogged over to him, "Yeah?"  "Just to warn you about Adelaide- she is likely to be extremely harsh on you if she figures out all that you have been through- she is a bit...eh...blonde to use an American phrase."  Anne winked, "After being all where I have been, I think that I can deal with her- after all, I could always stick her to the wall."  Severus gave her a quick, tiny smile, "I assume that you will be returning with us in the fall?"  She nodded, "Through Hell or high-water, I'll be here."  They stood there with an awkward pause between them before Anne broke in, "Oh, come here!" and gave him a quick hug, "Don't worry, I'll put in a good word for you- look for a letter by mid-July."  She turned away from him and joined the few other staff members who were on the train.  As it was pulling away from the station she leaned out and waved to everyone on the platform, "See you all in September!" and blew a kiss to them.  The school year had finally come to a close.  Anne and Angel had survived another year, but this time they were not on their own.

End of Part Two

Part Three

On the sixteenth of June, Annelise Marrion Schetzek stepped off the Hogwarts Express onto Platform nine and three quarters.  She had arrived in London.  She searched the platform for both her daughter Angelique and Jadelyn Riddle, former Hogwarts student.  She instantly found Jade leaning against a column and casually talking to an older man who seemed to resemble Saint Nicolas with his short white beard, his balding head, and slightly rounded figure.  He was as tall as Jade, if not slightly taller.  Next to him was a pale, bleach blonde woman with permed hair wearing the most ridiculously short magenta leather miniskirt and a tight black halter top.  Anne thought, "That must be Adelaide."  Anne retrieved her trunks from the train and made her way toward Jade, "Hey Jade!  This way, babe!"  Jade turned to see Anne happily pushing her trolley to the group.  The older man walked up to her and shook her hand, "I understand that you are Ms. Schetzek?"  Anne extended her hand, "Call me Anne, there is no need to be formal toward me!"  He laughed, "I feel the same way, I am Nigel Snape.  Just call me Nigel; it's what everyone else does.  I believe that your charming daughter is quite eager to see you."  From behind Nigel came a little squeal as Angel bounded to her mother, "Mums!  It's been a whole two days and I missed you a lot!"  Jade laughed and gave Anne a hug, "This here is my mother, Adelaide.  Adelaide, this is Annelise, she will be staying the summer with us."  Adelaide shrugged, "Hey.  I suppose that means that I might see you around the house sometime."  Anne grinned, "It's so nice to finally get to meet you all," she turned to Nigel, "Jade has told Angelique and I so much about you, it is wonderful to finally see you in person."  Nigel laughed heartily, "Well, well, that's good to hear, how about we get your things into the car and make our way out to the house?  It is a bit of a trek from here to there, but we should be home in time for dinner!"  Anne agreed and they were off.

That night they all ate a wonderful dinner in front of the fire in the drawing room of Nigel's magnificent house.  The house was not a mansion, but it was decorated in such a way that it seemed regal.  Anne and Angel each got their own rooms.  Angel was in the room that once had belonged to Nigel's eldest son, Robert, and Anne was in the room that had once belonged to Nigel's eldest daughter, Vanessa.  Across the hall from these two were both Jade and Adelaide’s rooms.  Nigel's room was at the end of the hall.  There were two unused rooms in the hallway, both of them the ones closest to Nigel's room.  One was a guestroom, labelled clearly on the door as being such.  The other room was not labelled and Nigel did not seem to want to divulge its contents.  Anne could guess easily enough that this had been Severus' room.  That night when she was tucking Angel into bed she noticed that Adelaide had left her room and was making her way down the stairs.  She was bedecked in make-up, hoop earrings, bangle bracelets and some magnificently gaudy necklaces.  Angel sighed, "Mum, Adelaide looks a bit sleazy- you don't think she is a streetwalker, do you?"  Anne shared her daughter's sigh, "I don't know, hon, I don't know.  I just thank God that we found Jade and that Nigel is so gracious to us."  Angel nodded, "Amen Mum, amen.  I'm glad too," she paused, "Mum?"  Anne tugged Angel's blankets up, "Yeah babe?"  Angel sighed, "Are you gonna tell Nigel our story?"  Anne kissed Angel goodnight, "Yup- first thing after breakfast.  I have to go talk to Jade now; you get some sleep, O.K.?"  Angel grinned, "'K Mum.  G'night."  Anne turned out the lights and closed Angle's door.  She slipped across the hall and knocked lightly on Jade's door, "Come on in."  Anne entered to see Jade and Nigel playing a game of wizard's chess, "Jade, can I speak with you for a moment?"  Jade nodded and excused herself.  They quitted the room for the hall, "Jade, I want you to know that I intend to tell Nigel everything tomorrow after breakfast.  I will detail what you heard in class and a little more that I think you should well be aware of; only one other soul besides my Angel currently is privy to this information.  I am unaware as to how Nigel will react to this, so I feel that you should be forewarned."  Jade nodded, "All right, I think what I will do is introduce the idea first- tell him that you wanted to reveal your history to him, and that it is not one that is readily acceptable but to have patience and hear it through.  That way there is a bit of a buffer in place.  I think he will see it in a positive light."  Anne sighed, "I'm just worried because of what happened with Severus...."  Jade smiled, "Yeah, I'm going to see if I can get Nigel to talk to me about that- maybe we can get Severus home this summer."  Anne let her worried countenance fade into a smile, "Yeah, I want to try that.  It would be good for them both."  Jade gave Anne a hug, "See you in the morning; don't worry, considering what he has heard coming from Adelaide, your story will be light...."

The next morning, Anne dressed in her blue dress and her billowing robes that she had worn for her revelation at Hogwarts.  She ate breakfast in silence and then followed Jade to the living room.  Jade addressed Nigel, "Adelaide’s not home, is she?"  Nigel shook his head, "No- she won't be all day today."  Jade sighed, "Thank God...Anne has something that she wishes to reveal to you- her past.  It is not a pretty sight and in most respectable circles she would be pushed away because of it.  She told a basic outline of it all to her students and to me.  She wishes to tell a little more detailed tale to you.  I ask that no matter how much you wish to interrupt her and stop her tale that you not and that you have patience and hear her through."  Nigel nodded, "Fair enough.  What is it you have to say, Miss Anne?"

She took a deep breath and began her tale, telling it in much of the same manner that she had done earlier to both her students and to Severus, "I moved from America to England when I was eighteen years old to attend Cambridge University.  It was there that I met others involved in wizardry.  One of them introduced me to their teacher, an old man living in a neighbouring village.  I won't go into all the details of my life at this time because it is still a bit painful to talk about.  The old man eventually took me to a meeting of other wizards.  That was where I first met Voldemort. I began my work as a sorceress and that same nineteenth year I wed a man who I had fallen in love with in my eighteenth year. He was wonderful. I didn't care that he wasn't a wizard, and he didn't mind that I was one, after all, his aunt was a witch and it wasn't an odd thing for him to see magic. Anyway, we decided that since he had to drive his mother to the country to visit his aunt that evening, we would celebrate our wedding the night after. I was quite excited and after the wedding I went back to the communal house that those of us studying the Dark Arts shared and fell asleep dreaming of the future. I hid both the engagement ring and the wedding ring on a long gold chain that I have not worn in years. The entire plan of ours seemed so secret and so safe. The next night I went to his home and unlocked the front door as usual. I called his name and he didn't respond. I thought that perhaps he was trying to be funny and would surprise me at one of the hallways. I called again as I went upstairs, but still no answer met my ears. I pushed open the door of his bedroom and heard the song Angel playing on his stereo. There were candles on the nightstand, a bottle of wine, and two crystal challises, but Jon was nowhere to be found. I stepped farther into the room and...nearly tripped over his dead body. I felt ill as I called the police and reported what I had found. There was no blood in the room, but I couldn't stay there for long. I waited for them and after they came I left. I hid my tears that night as I cried myself to sleep. In the morning I awoke to the bright sun and a hopeless day.  Jon's mother let me take whatever I wanted from the room, so I took the crystal challises, the bottle of wine, and the candles from the nightstand. I found myself quickly growing in my powers.  He did not have his own body at that time.  At first I found him somewhat repulsive, but as time grew I found that I became used to much stranger things than someone sharing a body.  The parasite taught me many different things, most of them harmless at first.  He taught me levitation, duelling, basic spell casting, and finally the Unforgivable curses.  By the time I turned twenty-one I was one of the Death Eaters.  I became a favourite of Voldemort's, simply because I believed all that he told me and I was easily led.  Then came the missions- dirty work that was a bit disconcerting at first, but I got used to it.  Eventually I was sent on a mission to 'eliminate' a troublesome Muggle who was probing to far into the past of one of our members.  I failed that mission- instead of killing her according to the plan I lost track of her in the subway system under London.  That was my first failure, but Voldemort was quite forgiving of my miscalculation.  He told me that not everyone can succeed every time.  He assigned that task to another Death Eater and let me take a break.  I rested for a period and then on my twenty-second birthday he stationed me in Ireland.  That was where I met Angel, but I will get to that later.  A group of Death Eaters, myself included, went to a little village on the sea to root out the source of a disturbance there.  A local witch and wizard had become too strong for our comfort and were attempting to find anyone associated with the Dark Arts and turn them in to the Ministry of Magic.  We confronted them in their home one night.  I refuse to go into any detail as to what events came to pass that night- they are to horrific to remember......but anyway, after they were dead, we heard a noise from the upstairs.  A five year old child had heard our noises and was crying in her sleep.  I convinced the rest of the group to leave and to let me take care of the child.  They did and I went upstairs to check out the situation.  I found the little girl, but couldn't bring myself to harm her.  That night I made a decision.  I would leave the Dark Arts and take the child with me.  I stayed at the house that night.  The next morning I returned to the Dark Lord with a sinking feeling in my heart.  Five months later I learned that Voldemort had sent a group of Death Eaters to my home town.  My sister Grace had been training in wizardry and had been 'eliminated' as a challenge to my rise to power. My sister was killed by Dark Wizards 'for my own good'. I was furious and depressed at the same time. I began to suspect that perhaps Jon had been murdered for the same reasons. I tried to check the records, but I was caught. I told the man who caught me that I was making sure that the LeFay case had been correctly dealt with. The next morning I awoke to the smell of smoke. In the centre of the room the challises were crushed around the smouldering remains of the candles. The bottle was empty and its contents were spilled around the mess of glass. That bottle is the only thing besides the rings that I have left. I packed all my belongings into my car and spoke loudly about selling it all. I lied; it all went to Jon's mother, Elenore, who promised to hold onto it for me. I spoke to Jon's aunt, Chloë, about the situation and about my suspicions. She had already thought that it was Dark Magic that had killed him and told me that if I was bothered by the Dark Arts now that it had stolen my love from me that I was capable of deciding to go into hiding. That night I went once again to check the files. I was quick enough that I found him in a matter of minutes. I left. I couldn't live with the fact that my boss had ordered the execution of my husband. In the middle of that night I packed all I owned into a cedar chest, a sea chest, and a satchel.  I levitated them quietly out of the door and left the service of Voldemort forever.  The next day I found myself in the same seaside town I had carried out my last mission in.  Curious, I went to the local orphanage.  Sure enough I found the same five year old girl in sitting in a corner.  She was crying softly to herself, asking everyone who passed if they could adopt her.  I talked to the nuns and left that day with a daughter.  I told her to gather her things so she dragged a miniature sea chest over to me.  We left and I booked a flight to England, spending much of the little Muggle money I had left.  We stayed in humble cottages and cathedrals as we travelled, singing and laughing as we made our way on foot to wherever we wished to go. We fancied ourselves like Wordsworth, walking to reunite with the natural world of which we were a part. We kept moving through my twenty-third year and my twenty-fourth year until we had seen much of England, Scotland, and Wales.  We had a few scrapes nearly being captured, but made it out of all of them.  I home-schooled Angel for the entire time that we travelled.  Before I had turned twenty-three Angel had told me how her parents died.  I had very cautiously told her of my involvement in the Dark Arts.  She had been entirely open and accepting of my past, forgiving me because of my own regrets of having ever been associated with Voldemort.  Angel knew basic wizardry from her parents and we continued to discover for ourselves what skills we possessed.  I turned twenty-five on October thirty-first of this past year.  I stumbled across Hogsmeade quite by accident and stayed there until someone told me of Hogwarts.  I was down to my last ten gallions, so I pressed the trail.  We carried all our luggage with us one day and set out to find the castle. I learned so much about myself through my travels and I think that I am better off because of it all. I may not have my family back in America, but I have a daughter and a friend-family. I am slowly trying to let the past fade into the back of my mind so that I can move on, but as Angel often sees, it is not that easy to do some days, and that song still bothers me.  If you see things in a forgiving light, then I thank you; if you see it fit that Angel and I should leave so as to be sure that there is no trouble, then I will gladly do so."

Silence hung in the air.  Jade shook her head, "I had no idea that you had been married before- what a hellish way to start off your adult life- as a widow."  Anne nodded, "Yeah, it was hell, but in the long run, it was his death that pushed me the farthest to leave."  Nigel rose, "Ms. Schetzek, you have a very wise outlook on everything you have been through.  You may or may not know that I have dealt with someone in my family turning to the Dark Arts and that it was highly destructive to us all.  I have never had someone repentant of it coming to my home and explaining their past with such openness, including the resolution that you will willingly go if that is what I wish.  I do not wish such a thing.  I am glad that you can see through the darkness and find the light there.  Welcome back, Ms. Schetzek."  Anne beamed and thanked Nigel profusely.  Angel burst in the door, "YAHA!!!  We's got ourselves a home that doesn't move this summer!"  Anne laughed as Angel hugged Nigel and Jade, finally landed laughing in her mother's lap.  Anne lightly shoved Angel off, "You want to dance?"  Jade's face lit up, "Oh I am so going to steal Adelaide’s stereo for this."  She ran off upstairs and came back with a boom box and a case of CD's, "Adelaide insisted that I get some Muggle music, so I told her that if she let me pick and then she spent the cash on them that I would willingly get some.  I have just about every late seventies/early eighties rock band that you can imagine and a few more recent discs that she had a friend pirate for me.  Angel, what do you want to hear?"  Angel was bouncing, "You got a rock mix?"  Jade nodded, "Yeah, any particulars?"  Angel kept bouncing, "Yeah, I want to hear Children of the Sun, Shot Down in Flames, Paradise City, and Sharp Dressed Man.  Got any of that?"  Jade shook her head in amazement, "Sure do- on my 'Jade's awesome rock album number sixty three'."  She set up her system and they began to dance around the sitting room, Nigel smiling at the three ladies who so joyfully enjoyed each other's company.  The summer was sure to be energetic, with these three around, and it would be no where near as morose as the summers when it was only Jade and Adelaide to keep Nigel company.

The next day Angel decided that she and her cat Kathleen would take a romp around the grounds.  Apparently it was so pleasing that they decided that it would happen every day that it was possible.  On Thursday the nineteenth, Angel came running back into the house carrying the cat during tea time, "Mum!  Me an' Kath discovered somethin'!"  Jade set her teacup down, "And what is it that you think that you have discovered?"  Angel set the cat down, "We discovered a barn!"  Jade looked puzzled, "I've lived here my whole life and I've never seen a barn."  Anne petted the cat as it scampered under the table, "Well, I guess that tomorrow, when you have the whole day to explore, you and Jade will have to go out there and see what you can find in it, if it is safe."  Jade turned to Nigel, "One:  Where did this barn come from, and two:  Why haven't I seen it?"  Nigel laughed, "That barn has stood on this property for as long as it has been in the family (and that is some length of time!).  You never saw it because you were the kind of child that preferred to sit inside and read rather than go explore the premises."  Jade shrugged and returned her attention to Angel, "Right, tomorrow morning after breakfast, you and I are going on an adventure."

Breakfast came too slowly for Angel's taste.  She wanted to be out exploring the barn all night.  To pass the time, that evening she explored the outside of the barn, finding all the doors and windows that she and Jade could possibly make their entrance through.  That night she spread out a huge sheet of paper in the library on Nigel's big desk and sketched picture of the barn.  She drew arrows to where she thought they should go in and she made a list of all the things that they might find in the barn.  She dragged her paper to dinner by the fireplace and spread it out on Jade's lap, "I think we might find old tools in there, maybe a dead mouse, a bat, maybe some old toys or clothes or something, and if we're lucky, we might find some old secret wizard books or something- maybe there is a book that tells us how to get rid of evil Dark Wizards!"

The pair set out at nine o'clock to see what they could find in the old barn.  Anne and Nigel watched them from the back deck, "The most they will find in there will be whatever the children left there many years ago," Nigel commented to Anne.  She smiled, "Whatever they find, it will be treasure to them."

Jade stood before the double doors of the big barn, "There is no way that we can lug these things open by ourselves- where else did you find a door?"  Angel led Jade around to the side of the barn, "Here's another one, but they all seem to be pretty big and they look heavy and stuck.  We can try a window...."  Jade pointed to a window high up on the side of the barn, "There looks to be a ladder on the side of the barn leading to that one...you go up there first so that I can catch you if you fall."  Angel easily scampered up the side of the barn, her tattered jeans and torn t-shirt catching on the ladder every few moments.  She reached the window and jumped in, "There's a floor here and it's stable," her baseball-capped head popped out of the window, "Come on up!"  Jade, for once not in a skirt, but in black jeans instead and a black tank top, climbed up the side of the barn like a giant spider.  She hopped through the window frame and landed near angel on a dirt covered second floor.  They walked over to the edge of the floor and looked down.  The first floor was a huge empty space covered in dust.  They scanned the second floor and discovered that the balcony they were standing on wrapped around three of the sides of the barn and at the inner junctions of the sides were railed steps leading up to the hay covered floor.  Jade scuffed her boot under the hay, "If we are ever going to find anything, we need to get rid of some of this hay."  Angel picked up an armload and threw it out the window they had come in through, "I know how to solve that problem easy enough."  They began their task immediately, making their way from window to window, two on each side and four across the back.  Angel found an L.P. in a plastic case under the hay.  She pulled it out of the case, "Jade!  I found music!"  Jade paused there work by the second window on the back and knelt by Angel, "You sure did- who is it?"  Angel flipped the album over to see the cover, "The Ozzman Cometh...that's an Ozzy album!  Mum's got this on her computer!"  Jade placed it back in the case, "We'll keep it in here for now so we don't hurt it while cleaning."  They continued working until they found a big wooden chest by the third window.  Jade pried it open and found herself looking into a box of antique tools, "Angel, these have got to be at least as old as Nigel...we found more treasure!"  Once again they went back to work.  By the fourth window they found a metal footlocker.  Jade pulled out her wand from her back pocket and chanted, "Alohamora!" to unlock it.  She and Angel slowly pushed open the heavy lid to see piles of old books.  Jade made sure that the lid was propped up and removed one of the texts.  She opened it to the first page and read the inscription written in a delicate and feminine script, "Severus, your love of Romanticism is wonderful, may it follow you all of your days.  Love, Mother."  Angel gasped and pulled a big book from the pile, "Percy Bysshe Shelley:  Collection of Works.  Jade, this is an old book!  Look, the writing in it is done by hand...do you suppose that it is a draft or something?"  Jade shook her head, "I don't know...Angel, these are Uncle Severus' books from before he was kicked out of the house.  Your mother is going to flip- so is Nigel...."  Angel looked quizzical, "Severus was kicked out of the house?"  Jade nodded, "Yeah, after he joined Voldemort.  Wow...when he comes home this summer, I am giving these back to him."  Angel smiled, "He's coming here?"  Jade put her finger to her lips, "Shush about that- Anne and I are conspiring to bring he and Nigel back to speaking terms.  Let's get back to work and see what else we can find."  They closed the lid of the trunk and Jade locked it once again.  As they finished that side, Angel sat down on a wooden crate, "I'm getting tired- we need a break!"  Jade laughed, "Angel, what are you sitting on?"  Angel leapt off the crate, "Holy Jeepers, I have no idea!"  Jade lifted the inset lid off the crate and they both starred in wonder at the collection of tin toys that sat within.  Anne pulled out a wind-up frog, "These are ancient!  I wonder if Mum has ever played with anything like this..."  They closed the lid and took their break.  They went back to work and found an odd shaped object secured by the hay packed around it and covered in burlap.  Jade pulled the cover off to reveal a three foot diameter disco ball.  Angel was ecstatic.  She put her extra energy into cleaning the rest of the balcony.  The last thing they found was a large black box and a flat box about four feet in length.  They brushed the dust off the black box and pulled the flat box away from the front of it.  Angel gasped, "Jade, you'll never guess what this is..."  Jade broke in, "Yeah, I will, I begged Mum for one of these ever since I was ten- it's a guitar amp, which means that this," she tugged over the flat box, "is most likely a guitar."  Jade opened the box as though she was opening a sacred chest.  There, gleaming in the dim light of the barn was a beautiful electric guitar, "Jade, where would this have come from- do you guys use electricity?"  Jade nodded, "Yeah, Nigel thought that his children should all have knowledge of both worlds:  Muggle and Wizard."  Jade lifted the instrument from its case; it was a rich red overlaid with glimmering black glitters.  Jade gazed at it lovingly, "This, my dear, is true treasure."  The girls finished with their cleaning and ran as fast as they could back to the house. 

Anne and Nigel were laughing over an exploded pot of spaghetti sauce when the girls burst into the kitchen, "Come on Mum, Nigel!  Jade an' me found treasure and we need help bringing it in the house!"  Anne wiped her hands on her apron and shrugged at the tomato in her hair.  She and Nigel followed the girls out to the barn.  Nigel heaved the box of tools on his shoulder while Anne lifted the crate of toys.  Jade carried both the amp and the guitar while Angel carried the disco ball.  After that had been deposited in the house, Angel and Jade lugged the footlocker of books into the house with the L.P. slipped into it.  Anne quickly finished cooking and cleaning up the mess and they ate dinner and washed dishes as fast as they could, the girls being eager to share their treasures with the family.  Everyone gathered in the library after all the things that had been dragged upstairs with much eager laughter. 

Angel held up the L.P., "This was the first thing we found other than a whole lot of hay- it is a copy of The Ozzman Cometh!  We shout victory for this find!"  Anne grinned, "Hand that awesome thing here- I want to see if the L.P. is in as good a condition as the case looks."  She slid the beautiful vinyl record out of its case and smiled, "Hot damn- this is in amazing shape for as long as it must have been out in the barn.  Whose was this?"  Nigel grinned, "It belonged to my son Robert before he died.  He prized that like it was gold- come to think of it, none of my children have been out in the barn since after he died...."  Anne slid the record back into its slipcover and looked at the cardboard cover, "Nigel- did Robert ever go any of Ozzy's concerts?"  Nigel shrugged, "That I know of?  Honestly, I think he might have, but I am really not too sure.  Why?"  Anne broke into a wide grin, "This monster is signed.  Here Angel, look here- right under the title- see that?  Ozzy signed this cover- Robert must have met him at one point- cool, huh?"  Angel smiled as Jade pulled the lid off of the first box that they had uncovered, "Angel- help me showcase this, won't you?"  Angel helped Jade lift the lid off the box and each of the girls pulled out a tool of some sort.  Jade spoke, "These have got to me nearly as old as the hills- we think that they may have been the first inventions after cavemen stopped using rocks as tools."  Nigel laughed heartily, "Those belonged to my father and were passed on to me when he died long before any of you ladies were even thought of."  Angel had already set her showcased items down and was opening the footlocker.  Nigel grew serious, "Ladies, let's not open that one now, I know where they come from and that fact is enough."  Jade motioned to Angel as Anne figured out who he referred to- that trunk must have belonged to Severus- there was no one else that Anne could figure Nigel would be so closed about.  Angel and Jade decided that the disco ball could hang in Angel's room since Adelaide would not miss it much and there was no where else it needed to go.  Finally Jade revealed her treasure.  She had every one close their eyes while she plugged in the amp and picked up the guitar.  She strummed a chord with the volume low and to her delight it was somehow in perfect tune.  She turned the volume up and grinned, she had it set on five, which would be loud enough to put everyone in shock- she turned it down a notch- Jade looked at the volume- it went to eleven.  She began to play.  Anne opened her eyes first and was ecstatic to find that Jade was playing Pink Floyd's Run Like Hell.  Anne drummed out the beat on the coffee table in front of her while Angel danced around the room.  Anne made up her mind that as soon as they got back to school, Hogwarts would be forming a rock band.

The next day Anne and Jade met in the living room to have a bit of a jam session.  Angel and Jade decided the day after that, Sunday, June twenty-second, that since they had a barn and at least part of a band, they should host a barn dance.  Jade got to work and Monday had a band together.  The week flew by and it was soon Saturday- the day that Jade had decided would be perfect for a country barn dance.

Anne watched the crowd mingle from her perch in the corner on a pile of hay-bales.  She sighed, what she would have given to have had Severus to keep her company.  She watched crowd when she was not playing piano and noticed that Jade had a certain flair for country dance, as did Angel.  Anne laughed to watch Nigel dancing with Angel.  She liked the fact that Angel was gaining a grandfather figure through the summer, she just hoped that there would be some way to pull Severus back into the family.  She sighed- she had to stop her musings to play with the band.

Nothing much happened in the lazy summer days that followed.  Anne brought Angel a set of sparklers to play with on July four, in celebration of American Independence Day.  Angel gave a few to Jade and the girls danced around the yard waving their silver sparks.  The next day, Nigel made a surprise announcement, "Well folks, I have decided that we should take a trip to London this weekend.  If you would like to come along, I have tickets to 'The Phantom of the Opera' for Sunday evening."  Angel jumped onto Anne's lap, "Can we Mum, please?"  Anne laughed, "Of course- Nigel invited us, so we will go- I think that you will like this show, I saw it once while in the United States."

The next weekend, after spending Monday thru Thursday at home, Jade and Angel decided that they wanted to go to London again.  Anne declined.  There would not be another excursion when she was still recovering from the first.  Nigel agreed, so the girls decided to recreate the city within the house.  The bedrooms became theatres and museums, the library was Windsor Castle, the kitchen and dining room were restaurants, and the living room became a club.  The conservatory became royal gardens and they pretended that each place they went they met with another famous artist, musician, movie star, or person of royalty who begged to take them out for the evening.  Anne laughed so hard when Jade told Angel that she was being escorted by Prince William that she nearly fell out of her chair in the library.  Angel bested Jade by saying she was escorted by Orlando Bloom, who was far more attractive than the Prince.  Nigel and Anne were forced to deal with living in a little London all weekend, until finally Mrs. Angel LeFay Bloom and Princess Jadelyn Windsor decided it was time to come home and resume their normal lives.

Anne took a deep breath on Wednesday, July sixteenth.  She had to talk to Nigel after dinner, "Nigel, I know that you have done so much for us and I almost feel out of place asking this, but would you mind if one of my friends from Hogwarts comes to visit us for a while?"  Jade braced herself- she knew what Anne was about to ask and she was nervous about Nigel's reaction.  Adelaide smirked, "Only if he's fine and I can borrow him."  Anne gave a rueful smile, "No- he's sweet, but a bit melancholic."  Nigel grinned, "Why not- what is his name?"  Anne took a deep breath and locked eyes with Jade, "Severus Snape."  Nigel's reaction was instantaneous, "WHAT?!!!  Absolutely not!  I am sorry, Anne, but he is not welcome in this household, not after who he worked for and what he did while working for him!  I cannot stand for it, not after what he did to Robert!"  Angel looked puzzled, "Mum?"  Anne nodded to her, "Later."  She turned to Nigel, "I know that this is difficult for you, but please hear me out.  Severus told me about the incident with Robert and his family...he only told me to help me cope with my past- that was the reason he left the Dark Arts, and it is very hard for him to discuss his history..." she sighed, "...even with me.  I don't blame him- we both have done some awful things in our lives- and it seems that he is tortured by those ghosts daily- he has no way to forget.  The man only has a few people he will talk to at all, really only Albus, Minerva (and to her it is very limited), and I.  I don't know how he has fared this long.  We discovered our commonality and formed a sort of a confidentiality and a friendship.  He helps me to deal with my past, and I let him reveal what of it that he feels it necessary to divulge or whatever is bothering him at that time.  We are just there for one another and I have to say, without him, there would have been quite a few times that I would have been at a loss as to what to do about a situation."  Adelaide looked disgusted, "You actually trust that worm?"  Anne nodded, "With my life- he is honest about what he has done and how he feels about it.  He refuses to let people into his life because I would guess that he found that people are often to quick to judge and to look not at the 'is' but the 'was'- he keeps to himself, withdrawn, silent, and sullen."  Adelaide was not convinced, "Hmpf- he's never been sullen before- he was always arrogant toward me."  Anne shook her head, "I couldn't see him arrogant- it doesn't fit what he has become.  Maybe it is time that you both re-meet Severus:  that you discover who he is now, not who he was.  No one deserves to be judged by another imperfect being." Adelaide began to get upset, "But look who he's worked for!"  Anne looked at Adelaide in disbelief, "Honey, you slept with Voldemort."  Jade nodded, "See here, case and point."  Adelaide rolled her eyes, "That was before he killed the Potters."  Anne glared at her pointedly, "Adelaide, that justifies nothing.  Adelaide stormed out of the room as Angel was returning from getting a drink of water, "Whoa- watch where you are going there!"  Nigel sighed, "Anne, this anger has gone on for far to long- this family needs to heal.  You said he is at Hogwarts?" Anne felt the tension in her body deflate, "Yes, he teaches Potions."  Nigel nodded, "Respectable!" he broke into a grin, "Oh, let's have my boy home!  Anne, owl him- and when you do, I'll add in a personal invitation of my own!"  Jade sprang from her chair, "YES!!!!!"  Nigel looked surprised as Jade began to dance around the room with Angel, both of them chanting, "Uncle Severus is coming home!  Home, home, home!  Uncle Severus is coming home!"  Anne had flopped back in her chair, laughing with joy, "Thank you, Nigel!"

The rest of July and the first seven days of August flew by with out a hitch.  Severus had agreed to come to the house on Nigel's birthday, August tenth.  Angel, Jade, and Anne were known to step with a spring in their feet and every so often when they would meet at corner, there would be a little squeal of delight and a hug.  Adelaide was disgusted by the enthusiasm shown for her brother.  She would attempt to dampen their spirits, but not even the sometimes melancholic Jadelyn would let Adelaide get in the way of the general feeling of love that ran through the household.  Finally the attitude became too much and Jade threatened to move all of Adelaide’s possessions to various places on the property if she did not shut up.  The house grew full of energy as they began to clean every room until it sparkled.  Nigel would not let anyone but himself into Severus' old room to dust- he did it himself as a way to show his happiness.  Angel was hyper as she cleaned her room.  The bedrooms were done by noon and that afternoon and evening they finished the library, the bathroom, the dining room, and the entry hall.  The next morning everyone arose early, except Adelaide, to finish before Severus arrived.  Angel set to work in the conservatory while Anne tidied the porch and then the living room with Nigel.  Jade was mopping the kitchen and every so often Angel would bound through the house singing, "Uncle Severus is coming home!  Home, home, home!  Uncle Severus is coming home!"  Anne laughed and would then guide Angel back to work.  After finishing the sitting room, Anne went to find Jade.  She found Jade dressed like a scullery maid, with a brown dress with no sleeves, a cream half-apron, and a kerchief holding her hair back:  she and Angel matched nearly perfectly, except that Angel's dress was emerald.  Anne smoothed her white half-apron against her black tank dress and adjusted her kerchief, "Jade-I am going to make sure that everything is set upstairs- call if Angel sees him coming!"

Anne made her way to the library and drew open the deep red curtains to let the morning light beam in.  She noticed that at the front of the house side of the library there was a door that, as far as Anne knew, had never been open.  She wondered if they should have cleaned there as she pushed it in.  She found herself in a slightly dusty sewing room with tailor's mannequins lined along the right wall and windows that looked out onto the front lawn on the other.  She recognized the script that labelled each mannequin with a name- this had been Nigel's wife's room.  The mannequin labelled 'Vanessa' was wearing a lovely yet simple off the shoulder white dress; the one labelled 'Adelaide' was clothed in an unfinished black skirt embroidered with brightly coloured flowers up one side; the one labelled 'Nigel' was wearing pyjamas; the one for 'Robert' wore a trench-coat covered in logo patches- some were sewn on, others were held there with straight-pins.  The last mannequin was for 'Severus' and it was wearing a beautiful black velvet cloak.  Anne saw that the emerald lining was unfinished and held in only by pins.  She opened the door on the opposite end from her entry and stepped into a room of the same dimensions as the library, the windows covered my heavy black drapes.  There was a ladder propped up by the door leading up to a Slytherin house crest above the door.  Anne crossed the dusty floor and climbed the ladder, only to find that the crest could be easily swung outward to reveal hidden attic space above the bedrooms.  Anne closed the crest-door and quitted the room to the sewing area- she would inquire later to the purpose of that room.  She looked outside to see a figure in black coming up the walk.  She dusted off her feet so she would not slip and ran as fast as she could to the library.  She quickly closed the door to the sewing room and ran as fast as she could downstairs as Angel called out, "Uncle Severus is coming, Uncle Severus is coming!  Come on, Mum, can't you move any faster?"  Anne jumped down the last few steps as Adelaide looked through the peephole on the front door, "Yeah, it’s him."  Anne called to her, "Open the door!"  Adelaide turned to her, "When Hell freezes over."  Anne grinned, "Back in Michigan it does every year."  Adelaide looked puzzled.  Anne sighed, "Oh, just shove over!" and she pushed Adelaide out of the way and opened the door.  Severus stood there with an apprehensive look on his face.  Anne smiled warmly, "Welcome home."  He stepped inside the door and levitated his trunks just inside the door.  He stiffly nodded to Anne, "Hello, Annelise."  Jade was heard tripping over her bucket of mop water in the kitchen, "Ah crap...oh well," and then seen sliding and slipping out of the kitchen on the water that had spread all over the floor, "Uncle Severus!"  Her enthusiastic greeting was interrupted by an emerald and red blur that flew from the conservatory and into Severus' arms, "Uncle Severus!" Angel shouted as he lifted her off the floor, she hugged him tight, "We are so excited!!!  Mum hasn't stopped dancing and neither has Jade since you said you would come!  Wow- I am so happy!!"  She gave him a peck on the cheek as he lowered her to the ground.  Jade hugged him quickly as Nigel came in from the living room, "Severus!"  Severus froze- Anne could see the tension in his shoulders at the sight of his father.  She watched as Nigel stood before his son, "Severus...welcome home, my prodigal son.  What a wonderful present for my birthday today."  Nigel gathered his son in his arms and Severus relaxed a little to return the embrace.  He nearly smiled, "Its good to see you too, father."  Adelaide, who had been watching from against the wall that was shared with the living room, was less than pleased to see her older brother, "I cannot believe this- a warm welcome for that!  What the hell! -after all he's done!"  There should have been an awkward silence as Severus' shoulders hunched like that of a threatened cat.  Anne moved close to him and gently rested her hand on his back- the half second that it took for her to perform this little act of kindness was all that it took for Nigel to react, "ADELAIDE MORRIGHAN SNAPE!  You will leave immediately if you cannot keep your mouth SHUT!  He is your brother."  Adelaide’s eyes were burning, "My only brother, thanks to himself!"  Nigel paused and spoke in a low, deadly voice, "Leave- that is behind us now."  She snapped back, "Not to me." as she turned and stormed out the front door.  Severus' head was spinning, "I should have never come back here..." he thought- then he noticed Anne gently bringing her hand from on his back to his shoulder.  She squeezed it and smiled kindly at him.  Nigel turned to Severus, "Why don't you two head upstairs and unpack?  Don't worry about Adelaide; she is a little bitch some days...."  Jade, who had her protective arms around Angel because of the tirade, smiled as they passed.  Angel was glaring at the door and whispered to Jade as they passed, "Someday she's going to get what is coming to her, and somehow we are going to be involved in it.”  As Anne and Severus levitated the trunks up the staircase, Nigel shout after them, "Take your old room- everything is where it should be!"

Anne followed Severus down the hallway to the room that, upon her arrival, had been the only one not designated to a purpose.  She felt that the tension from the encounter with Adelaide downstairs was melting off.  Severus opened the door to his room and stood there in the doorframe for a moment just staring at the room in front of him.  He entered the room and left his trunk at the foot of the bed.  Anne followed suit.  To her surprise, the room was not done entirely in black.  The beige walls were bare except that above the bed was multi-picture frame with photographs of two women in it.  Anne walked over and found herself looking at pictures of who she knew had to be Vanessa and Severus' mother.  Anne watched him as he began to look at the things on his dresser for the first time in so many years.  She shut the door- who knew what memories might surface as Severus rediscovered his past?  Severus picked up a portrait that Anne could see was the family at a much earlier date.  He sighed painfully and set the frame down again.  Anne walked to behind him and gave his shoulders a squeeze.  He turned so that he could peer at her over his shoulder and then a little farther.  Severus placed his arm around her waist and pulled her beside him.  She smiled at him and spoke, "I know that this must be difficult for you, but you have to remember that you are not alone.  I apologize for Adelaide’s behaviour- it was completely uncalled for."  He still had not met her gaze but for a brief moment before he had brought her to his side, "It's alright."  She shook her head and gazed at the family picture, "No, its not- that kind of behaviour is not acceptable in any situation- my goodness, Angel doesn't even behave like that!  Anyway, Nigel has not stopped anticipating this for the entire time since I mentioned it a back in July."  Severus still did not face her.  Anne instinctively let her hand rise to turn his chin toward her.  After she did, their eyes locked.  She gently brushed a fallen lock of hair from his cheek.  He reached up and caught her wrist as her hand drifted from his face, "Anne?"  She smiled, "Yes?"  "Thank you."  She tilted her head slightly, "For what?"  "For bringing me home, letting me be, keeping my secrets- really for giving me just a little bit of hope."  Anne laughed lightly, "Isn't that what friends are for?"  He smiled softly and gathered her in his arms, "Yes."

That night at dinner, Nigel enlisted Adelaide’s help to set the dining room table.  She was less than pleased, "Why do we have to come in here for dinner?  We never use this room!"  Nigel began to place stemmed glasses at each of the spots, "We are all together again- the entire family will eat in the dining hall to celebrate."  She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed, "But it's not the entire family."  Nigel stopped in front of her, "It is all we have and you will act thankful for it whether you like it or not."  She huffed, "All this fuss for him," and rolled her eyes in disgust.  Nigel glared at her, "Remember what I told you earlier?"  She let her arms fall to her side and sighed in temporary resignation, "Yes sir."  He nodded, "Good."  At that moment Jade and Angel began to bring dishes of steaming food in from the kitchen.  They were laughing, "Ang- I guess that it is a good thing that Nigel kept that record book!"  Angel laughed, "Yeah, Nigel- thanks for keeping track of what your kids liked for dinner- the book was a wonderful help!"  Jade set a big pan of pasta on the table, "Amen to that, sister!  How else would we have known that Severus' favourite dinner was either baked fish-"  "-Fettuccini Alfredo, cheesy potatoes, garden salad, sparkling water with a twist of lemon, various teas, and cheesecake to follow it all up!" Angel listed.  Jade helped Angel set the salad on the table and the two girls went off to get more of the dishes.  After they had completed their task, Jade did a little dance, "Oh, this is going to be so wonderful!  Ang- join me in the 'Jade and Angel happy dance'!"  Nigel laughed heartily as the two girls did their little dance, "I am glad that you share in the enthusiasm!  Angel, why don't run up and bring Anne and Severus down for dinner."  Angel scampered off as Jade whirled around to face her mother, "If you say one thing about his past at dinner and I swear that I will find some way to make you pay- a snake in your bed will be the least of your worries."  "You wouldn't dare," Adelaide spat back.  Jade had a retort ready, "What are you going to do, call my father?"  Nigel stepped in, "Jade, calm down- I will deal with Adelaide when and if the time comes."  Jade took a deep breath, "Sorry, sir."  Nigel smiled again as he heard giggling from the stairs, "Take your seats- I think that I hear Angel coming."

Angel bounced down the stairs ahead of Anne and Severus chattering happily, "...so then I casted that one spell that makes me have control over someone and made that mean old idiot sing 'Baby one more time' by Brittney Spears- in platform shoes and that awful girly pink robes and with his fingernails painted with little daisies.  It was awesome!"  Anne laughed and squeezed Severus' hand, "I wish we could really make Voldemort sing Spears...that would be so funny- especially if we could get him to wear pink too!"  Angel bounced ahead of them and then turned to face her mother, "Oh, stop your jabbering and keep up- I'm hungry!"  Anne laughed a little more and followed her daughter into the dining room where the rest of the family was waiting for them.  Nigel gestured for them to sit.  Angel plopped down by Jade and pointed to the chair next to her, "Mum, you sit here- Severus, next to her, and that way then you are by Nigel too, and Nigel is by Adelaide, and then Adelaide is by Jade, and since I went counter-clockwise there, it all comes back to Jade sitting by me!  You know, Jade and me, we made the whole dinner- cool, huh?  We found cookbooks and Jade taught me how to cook stuff without setting it on fire or burning it- isn't that awesome, Mum?"  Anne smiled, "Wonderful Angel- perhaps some night you will have to make dinner for me when we go back to Hogwarts this year- wouldn't that be special?"  Angel nodded happily.  Nigel motioned for everyone to hold hands as he said a blessing on the meal, "Lord, we thank you this day for bringing us the bounty before us and the many blessings in the forms of all those who gather here.  I thank you for bringing my son home to me this day, a beautiful and wonderful gift of healing.  I thank you for Annelise who conjured up the courage to tell me her story and to suggest this reunion; I thank you for Angelique who has brought laughter back into our lives; I thank you for Jadelyn and Adelaide, my ever present children and for the wonderful work Jadelyn has done in bringing Annelise and Angelique into our presence.  I ask, Lord, that you continue to bless us in wonderful and mysterious ways.  Amen."  Anne gave Angel and Severus' hands a squeeze before breaking the link, as she used to do with her own family long before she had even come to Britain.  They began to pass the dishes around the table, filling their plates with all the wonderful things that Jade and Angel had cooked.  Jade asked Severus if he liked their work and he gave each of the cooks a little almost-smile and thanked them for their toil in the kitchen, "You ladies did perfect work," he said.  The cooks beamed all the rest of the evening.

Throughout the meal, everyone but Adelaide chatted lightly about their little misadventures of the past year.  Angel mentioned the Eddwords incident, and all attention fell to her, "We were minding our own lives perfectly when that creep showed up- he started slamming Mum and Uncle Severus right and left and spreading perfectly awful rumours- so we decided to pay him back- LeFay/Schetzek/Riddle style.  Jade stiffened him up real good and we shoved him in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom- she's a ghost.  Man, was he ever mad- but we did it again to him when me and the inseparable trio- that was after he was saying mean things to Mum and Uncle Severus in the halls- we spooked him and he fell down the stairs and knocked himself out, so we repeated the whole thing with the bathroom and all.  That wasn't the end, though.  I heard that he was the cause of the accident in the Potions lab that sparked the first bathroom incident, although Mum never told me for sure..." she turned to Anne for confirmation.  Anne nodded, "Back up a bit- I can tell about that.  I heard a massive explosion and rushed over to the lab and found that everyone was a bit shaken up- I let out the class and looked for Severus.  As I was helping him up, the door opened and we hid under the desk- the intruder was Eddwords, and he was gloating about how Severus was dead.  Then Albus came into the room and kicked Eddwords out.  Some of the students became fond of backstabbing at that time, but the really conscientious students knew that something was amiss.  Thankfully, they kept the situation under control."  Jade grinned, "Then there was the duelling club.  This was after the second bathroom incident.  Eddwords decided to restart the duelling club that had so miserably failed a few years ago.  First he and Severus duelled- Eddwords went down fast.  Then Eddwords saw Anne's joy at this and challenged him with the condition that the winner would get to duel any staff member of their choice.  Anne did not even use her wand- she just caught the spell he cast at her and pitched one of her own back to him- essentially she glued him to the wall and he was stuck there.  Then she challenged Severus.  She used her wand this time and they duelled for five minutes without any real big effects- lots of blocking and a little fire and all that jazz.  Then Anne cast her wall-stick spell and Severus returned it to her with twice the magnitude.  She ended up on the wall and upside-down."  Angel started the next part of the story, "The last straw came when Anne had to sit in Eddwords' class to observe and he ripped on her and Uncle Severus the entire time.  That was it, something had to be done.  Mum- take it from here, you never gave me many details from this."  Anne smiled at Severus, "Severus went to try and talk to Eddwords and I played the spy so that I could report the entire thing to Albus as a witness.  Within seconds Eddwords exploded and I entered the room telling him to calm down.  Both men told me to leave- Eddwords said it was no concern of mine and Severus did not wish for me to end up injured.  I said no, and Eddwords slammed Severus into a wall so quickly that I really couldn't see what had happened- he was so fast.  I got ticked off.  I hovered him off the floor and threw him through the window.  I stopped him a few inches before he would have spattered on the ground and then let him fall the last few inches.  That was really the end of everything.  He felt no remorse."  Nigel nodded, "Nice work there, everyone, nice.  You should have tried to have him fall into briars though."  Angel grinned, "I wish."  Jade laughed, "Or the 'Exploding Infernal Eye'- I used that against Draco Malfoy and ended up with detention, but it was worth it beyond all things."  Adelaide was confused.  Nigel did not bother to explain, "Good work, Jade!  Very good! You girls make me proud." Angel grinned at Jade, “Yup, we’re regular Charlie’s Angles, aren’t we?” Jade gave Angel and Anne a Cheshire cat grin, “When we get back to school, I am so going to start leaving little ’C. A.’ initiallings at every site I work on…”  After a few more minutes of jovial chatting over the values of pranking the Malfoys, Adelaide up and left the table.  Severus followed her exit with his gaze.  Angel and Jade continued to conspire with Nigel on their upcoming year at Hogwarts and what they could do to keep from getting caught by anyone, except Anne and Severus, both of whom seemed to be supportive of the conspiracy.

 At the end of their discussions, Anne took Angel up to bed.  Angel grinned as her mother tucked her into bed, "So, have I won our bet?"  Anne shook her head, "Nope."  Angel snapped her fingers, "Blast!"  Anne laughed, "You just be patient- you will know if you do."  Angel sighed, "'Night, Mum."  Anne turned out the light and closed the door, "'Night, babe."

Anne smiled as the door clicked shut.  She stood there for a moment, letting her love for her daughter hold the image of her sleeping rest in her mind.  She felt a presence behind her and heard the carpet-muffled footfalls of someone approaching.  She turned, "Oh- Severus- I was just coming to talk to you."  He nodded, "Come to my room and we can talk."  Anne nodded, "O.K.- I like that idea."  They sat on his bed and she shrugged, "How was today?  Adelaide was a pain, but besides that- any thoughts on your first day home?"  He pulled out a chess set, "Play?" she nodded, "Well then, set up while I talk." Anne nodded again and began to set up the game.  The little figures moved to centre themselves as Anne set them on the board.  He spoke, "It was an odd day.  I was glad to see Angelique, Jadelyn, and yourself, but I was apprehensive about Nigel.  I knew that Adelaide would be trouble.  I knew that she would be hostile.  After our talk, I felt better about Nigel.  Adelaide was still a problem.  I still want her to just leave.  Dinner was nice- I wonder how the girls knew what I liked...anyhow, it made having to sit at the table with Adelaide easier.  Are you finished setting up yet?"  Anne smiled, "Yeah- I don't think that I have ever played wizard's chess.  Can you teach me?"  He let a small grin creep across his face, "Of course I can."  They played chess through the night until Anne stumbled to bed just past three in the morning, "Well, that was nice- I think that I can deal with Adelaide the rest of the summer if Severus keeps me company in the evenings...."  Anne fell into bed in the dress she had worked all morning in.  The day had been long, but it had been wonderful.

The next day, Anne slept until noon and discovered, to her delight, that Severus had also slept in.  She did not feel guilty anymore about having left Severus at the mercy of Jade and Angel over the morning- by sleeping in he would have avoided the hyperactive enthusiastic questioning and prodding of Angelique and the bitching of Adelaide.  Jade was quiet enough that she would not have tried to bother her Uncle.  Anne stretched and headed for the shower.  She freshened up and dressed in a simple red flowing skirt and a spaghetti strap tank-top, ready to take on the day.  She went to seek out Severus; the footlocker that Nigel had not wanted the girls to open when they had revealed their treasures from the barn was waiting to be opened.  Anne found him in his room reading, "Knock knock- can I come in?"  He turned to her from the bed where he had been sitting straight, "Indeed."  Anne smiled, without his flowing robes overtop of his blacks, Severus looked as though he could have stepped out of some book- a book that would have had at least one fencing sequence.  She stood just inside the door, "Do you want to come to the library with me?  There is something that the girls found that you may have an interest in."  Severus nodded, "I believe that I know of what you speak.  Yes, I would love to come and see what you have to show me, as long as it's quiet."  She laughed, "Of course."  He set his book down and followed her to the library.  Anne tilted her head, "What were you reading?  You seemed quite involved in it."  He held the library door for her, "I was reading Macbeth.  I have read it before, but I have not read that copy with my notes in it from age sixteen since before I was, er, kicked out of the house? -anyhow, I thought that it would be interesting to see what had changed in the impact the book had on my life since then.  I found the differences quite striking and quite intriguing."  Anne settled down into one of the red velvet upholstered chairs after she pulled the footlocker between her chair and the chair beside her.  Severus settled into the chair beside Anne and very slowly reached out and brushed the edge of the footlocker.  Anne watched him as he became lost in thought and memory.  She very slowly lifted the lid of the footlocker and pulled out one of the top texts and read the inscription, "Severus, your love of Romanticism is wonderful, may it follow you all of your days.  Love, Mother."  Anne handed the book to Severus, "The girls went on an expedition to the barn and discovered something that had belonged to each of you Snape children- and Nigel too.  They found a disco ball of Adelaide’s that is now in Angel's room, an electrical guitar that Jade loves that belonged to Vanessa, tin toys, antique tools, an L.P. of Robert's, and this footlocker of yours.  I thought that you might like to have it back and in your room."  He nodded, "Thank you." he slid from his chair and kneeled beside the footlocker, "Come- look at these with me- some of them are quite rare, and others, like the one that you read the inscription from, are copies.  My mother wrote that one out in her spare time.  Here- this one is a first edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.  Here is a second edition Byron, and this one is a copy made by a friend of my father's of Wordsworth and Coleridge's Lyrical Ballads.  Dig in- see what you can find- I haven't seen these since before I was disowned- I love the discovery of all this."   He sighed and shook his head, "Memory is wonderful when it is happy, don't you agree?"  Anne nodded and gently lifted one of the texts out of the box.  She opened the cover to find that she was handling a signed first copy of William Blake's Jerusalem.  She gasped, "Severus- do you know how valuable this is?  My goodness, to a Blake follower, this thing is a treasure that I would never think that I should be handling.  It is a lost copy...and signed...I think that I am going to tip over...!"  He smiled, "That one was given to me by my great aunt when I was very young.  At that time, I just thought that the pictures were pretty, not until I was near sixteen did I realize what it really was."  They dug through the footlocker until Anne had seen every book therein and gasped a thousand times for each beautiful book she was either handed or she pulled out herself.  Anne was amazed at all the priceless texts around her.  She continually returned to a collection of original drafts of the poetry of William Butler Yeats, "This is astounding- and here is that poem that Angel and I love-

I used to sing this to her while we were running...and this one here, The Two Trees, we read this one together while we were sitting in the woods awaiting a lady to take us into hiding in her home...the memories are indeed wonderful whey they are beautiful...."  Her words tapered off as she gently turned the pages of the manuscript.  He sighed and then watched her finger the leaves of paper as though they were sacred, "Anne- keep them."  She froze, "What?"  He smiled, "Keep them- those pages mean more to you than they ever did or ever will to me.  They are yours."  She protested, "I could never- these are yours though- I...you...really?"  He nodded with a glimmer in his eyes, "Yes, really."  Anne slipped the papers back into the folio folder that she had found them in and, after setting them on the chair and walking over to sit beside Severus, gave him an ever-grateful hug, "Thank you a thousand times and beyond words that exist."  He returned the embrace, "What less could I do for someone who has done so much for me?"

The day passed quickly for Anne and before she knew it, she was waiting for Severus to meet her in the library after she had put Angel to bed.  Once again they spent the night together, this time reading poetry to one another from the books they had sorted the night before. 

The next day, Nigel rose at breakfast to announce a surprising bit of news- at least for Angel and Anne, "Each year I attend the Annual Wizarding Convention and Ball in Belfast.  It falls this weekend and I would like all of you to accompany me.  We will leave Friday mid-day and arrive Saturday morning.  The convention takes place all that day and is capped off by a gala ball that evening.  On Sunday we will travel home.  It is tradition that all wizards arrive at this event via Muggle transportation, so we will be travelling by train and ferry.  This weekend will be quite fun, if," he glared at Adelaide, "we can all keep our tempers."  Angel was bouncing in her seat, "Wow!  We get to go to Belfast!  Mum- did you hear that- we get to go back to Ireland- I'm gonna be going back to the Motherland!"  Anne laughed.  The trip would be wonderful, as long as Adelaide did not ruin it with snide remarks.  After breakfast, Anne, Jade, Angel, Nigel, and Severus all dug into the old tin toys that had come from the barn.  From trick banks to wind up toys, all the things in the chest fascinated Angel.  Nigel let her take the toys in her room- what better use was there for them?

After they had situated the toys in Angel's room, Anne found the antique tools and pulled out a few pieces.  She escaped by herself to the barn and set her choices on the floor of the balcony.  She went out behind the barn and found a few fallen sticks that she deemed the proper size and brought them back inside.  She set to work cutting and sanding the sticks to create the sides for a tiny box.  She nailed the perfectly flat edges as the insides of the box, with only the bottom of the box being flat both in and out.  The outer sides of the box were left as nature intended so that the sides still were covered in the bark of the tree.  Anne smiled at her work.  It was not perfect, but it would serve her purpose.  She looked out the window to find that the sun was already fading in the evening sky.  She sighed and pulled a lock of her hair from under what she called the mop on her head.  She clipped it off from the base of her skull, wound it into a little spiral no bigger than her thumb, and slipped it into the box.  She fitted the little lid on it tightly and smiled.  There, perfect.

That evening after dinner, Anne once again met Severus in the library.  She settled by the fireplace and waited for him to do the same.  After a few moments of silence, he shrugged, "So, what are we doing this evening?"  Anne sighed, "First I am giving you this," and brought out the little box that she had taken so much time in crafting.  He tilted his head with curiosity as he opened the lid and peered within.  She explained herself, "It is a tradition that Angel brought to my attention.  She told me that long ago a lass would give someone that she cared about a lock of her hair.  I thought that since you are the closest friend that I have that I would continue this tradition for you."  He smiled, "Thank you, Anne."  She grinned, "So...want to tell stories tonight?  I have a few good ones that I could tell."  He nodded, so she began to weave her magical tale, "This one is a story that I wrote while I was still in the States- I was a dancer and I got sick of the egomaniacs that I ran into every once in a while.

Severus found himself laughing at the antics that accompanied the tale just as much as he was laughing at the strange story itself, "Alright- now it is my turn.  This story is one that I have been trying to tell for ages, but due to my position, I have had no one to tell it to.  At long last it comes forth.

Anne smiled, "Angel would like that story- you should tell it to her some time."  They continued trading tales until midnight when Anne announced that she was exhausted beyond any doubt.  They departed with a brief hug and went off to their respective rooms, each one's head swimming with the stories of the other.

The next day, Anne decided to satisfy her curiosity of the large, empty room with the Slytherin house crest.  After lunch she asked Severus to meet her in the library, "During my cleaning I nosed into a few places that I probably shouldn't have, the room beyond being one of them."  She led him into the sewing room and she leaned on the window ledge.  He closed the door after him, "Mother's workshop...I remember this place well...."  His voice was distant, his eyes not focusing on what was in the room they occupied, rather on the door at the far end.  Anne noticed and rose, walking toward the door to the empty room, "Severus, do you remember this room?"  He shook his head, "Please Anne- not now," he placed his hand on her shoulder to hold her back.  She stayed facing the door, "Then when?"  He continued to resist, not with anger, but uncomfortably, "Annelise, no..."  She turned on him abruptly, snapping as she spoke, "Then when?!" she instantly regretted her display of impatience at the sight of his expression, "Severus, I didn't mean...I'm sorry, I-"  He broke into her apologies with a brush of his fingertips across her lips to silence her, "You're right.  Open the door."  She swallowed hard, "If you're not ready..."  He smiled, "I am."  She turned back to the door and slowly pushed it open.  She entered into the darkened room reverently, waiting for him to follow.  He closed the door behind him, leaving them in the enveloping blackness of the empty room.  Anne stood perfectly still.  She heard Severus mutter something under his breath and the great iron chandelier that hung from the centre of the ceiling illuminated, lighting the entire room with a dim yellow light.  Anne looked around her at the coat of dust covering everything and the cobwebs that drifted from the chandelier, "What is this place?"  He answered her question as she noticed a track-work coming from the crest-door and wrapping around the room to a reachable level on the opposite wall, "This...was my laboratory."  Anne nodded, "What was the track for?"  His eyes followed the track as hers had done moments earlier, "Let me show you."  With a wave of his wand and a few muttered words, the crest-door opened up and a huge half-cylindrical copper vat made its way across the edge of the room and settled against the far wall, "This was my mixing basin- it used to come to rest over an open burner- it appears that Nigel has removed everything else in here that I once used."  Anne shrugged, "I really can't say that I blame him."  Severus moved toward the vat, "Me neither- do you want to see the attic space?  I think that you will appreciate that which I hid up there so many years ago- if it is still there, that is."  Anne smiled, "Sure."  She followed him up the ladder.  He stood in the frame, "Here," he offered her his hand and she accepted, "'Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'"  She met his gaze, "Ozymandias."  He nodded, "Shelley."  She continued, "Of the Percy variety," she ventured into the room as he watched her every move.  She pulled a lighter out of the folds of her dress and flicked it on.  Severus hit a light switch, "The lab is the only room in the house without electricity."  She extinguished the lighter and starred at the draped objects around her, "Severus- what are these?"  He motioned toward the centre of the room, "Go ahead- unveil something."  She pulled a cover off what appeared to be an easel to find an oil painting portrait of a lady, "Wow...this is beautiful.  Who is she?"  She noticed immediately after she has spoken that his eyes were cast to the floor, echoing with humility, "Severus- you painted these?"  He shrugged, "It was a hobby- but don't bother with that one for long- here, try another one."  He covered up the lady and unveiled a Gothic castle, "Or here, look at this one..." and he unveiled a violent storm, "but not her."  Anne tilted her head, "Who was she?"  He tried to brush off her comment, "Just a girl I knew long ago.  Never mind her."  Anne nodded, "These are beautiful- could you paint something for my classroom or my chamber someday?"  He looked stunned, "You really want me to?  Well, I'm sure that I could...what do you want?"  She shrugged, "I don't know- surprise me- think of something to suit my personality.  I will love whatever you paint, I am sure."  He fidgeted with the edge of one of the drape covers, "Um, someday, perhaps next year over Christmas break, I...I would like it if you would sit for a portrait."  Anne was delighted, "Oh!  O.K."  He continued with a slight stammer, "I mean...if you would even want to- really, you don't have to...if you don't want to..."  Anne realized that he was a bit nervous- perhaps feeling like she only agreed because she feared hurting him.  She took his hands in hers, "Severus, hush, I would love to sit for a portrait.  It would be an honour."  He sighed and smiled ever so slightly, "Thank you, Anne."  She shrugged, "No problem."  They spent the rest of the afternoon discovering all the wonderful artwork the attic housed.  At the end of the day he stood in the midst of it all and spread his arms wide, "There you have it- my hobby."  She gazed on the beauty around her, "These are amazing- how about turning the lab into a gallery?  We could load the vat up with paintings and bring them all down to the floor and set up everything down there!"  He looked at her sceptically, "I don't know about that..."  She insisted, "Oh come on, it'll be fun- you have a spectacular talent that is not doing you any good up here- let it out!"  He shrugged, "Really though, who would want to see these?  The style is archaic, as is most of the subject matter."  She stood there with her hands on her hips, "Seriously- everyone here but Adelaide would love to see these- Angel is going to flip when she finds out you are an artist!  If we keep Adelaide from finding out, no worries!"  He peered at the Gothic castle, "You honestly think these are worth looking at?"  She sat on the floor beside a painting of angels battling in heaven against Lucifer and his minions, "Jade would love the darkness that pervades through some of these- the sublimity of them.  Angel would love to try and figure out why each was created; Nigel would love them simply because it was you who created them.  If Vanessa were around, she would be proud that her little brother shared his gift."  He sat beside her, "What about yourself?"  She let out a little sigh, "I wonder at the emotions behind each, the beauty of the colours and the majesty of the scenes, even the delicate majesty of the garden scenes.  I try to relate the pictures to my own experience.  That Gothic castle?  It reminds me of Victor Frankenstein, the brilliance of his mind, yet the destructive power that he inadvertently releases.  The storm makes me think of the gale that Angel and I watched just before we left Éire," she pointed to the corner of the room, "The old cemetery painting that is somewhere over there- I can almost feel as though I am there and those graves are of my Jon and my sister.  I can feel an enveloping cloak of darkness over the scene.  That painting you showed me of the Sildhe's interior was marvellously rich in colour, vibrant with life and wonder- Angel will love that- I can remember walking between two colliding Sildhe in Éire.  It was wonderful.  I relate to these pictures; they are amazing."  He shrugged again, "Thank you- would you like to build this gallery tomorrow?"  She grinned, "Of course!"  They clamoured down the ladder and he headed to the main door of the room over which the crest-door hung, "The castle that reminded you of Frankenstein?"  She nodded, "Yes?"  He turned back to her, "My middle name is Victor," and left Anne standing by herself in the centre of the room.  She smiled to herself, "And oddly enough, you are similar to my perception of the character...." 

She quitted the room to the sewing room and sat down at the old machine, "Nigel said I could work on these projects...I wonder what to do first?"  She pulled Robert's trench coat over to the workspace.  She would start simple- logo patches would surely get her back into practice!

The next day, Anne and Severus set to work early in the morning, bringing the artwork down from the attic space by filling the copper vat with paintings and Anne and sending it down the track.  Anne unloaded the work, climbed back in, and she in the vat rose back up to the attic.  By the end of the day they had set all of the artwork on easels or hung it on the walls.  Anne was amazed by not only the number of paintings, but the variety of the topics they covered.  After dinner, Severus and Anne rose to address the family, "Severus and I have worked hard all day to bring you all a wonderful surprise- if you will please follow us upstairs at this time, we will unveil our work."  Angel bounded after Anne and Severus and wedged herself between them, "Mum?  Where were you all day today?"  Severus answered for Anne, "Patience, child- you will see in a moment."  Severus opened the main door to the newly built gallery and held it for Anne, Angel, Jade, and Nigel.  Adelaide had disappeared for the day.  Anne stood between the family and a curtain that Severus and she had rigged up, waiting for him to join her.  As soon as he did, she took his hand and spoke, "Severus and I have put a lot of time into setting this up today, but as I understand it, he put at least seven years into the nearly one-hundred pieces that you are about to see.  We both hope that what is behind this curtain will make you think.  Thank you."  With that, Severus pulled the draw cord and the curtain parted in the middle and was gathered up to frame the room beyond as a window into Severus' soul.  Anne stepped aside as Angel first stepped yonder into the gallery in awe.  Jade followed, her eyes pulling her through the gallery.  Nigel was last to enter into his son's record of emotion and creativity.  The room was arranged chronologically from Severus' first year at Hogwarts when he began his painting all the way through his seventh year when the Dark Arts had taken their hold.  Anne stood with him at the edge of the room, "So...do you want to stay and watch reactions or do you want to escape?"  He sighed, "To the library?"  She shrugged, "I was thinking outside- after all, we passed up the opportunity during the day, and the evening air is warm.  We could wander around the gardens or out to the barn, or to the wildflower field- whatever you want."  He nodded and spoke in a hushed tone, "That sounds like a good idea," and they slipped from the room and then the house to the evening beyond.  She ran to the wildflowers and waited for him to follow- he did not run.  She flopped down amidst the daisies and stared up at the stars.  He sat beside her and leaned back on his elbows, "I guess one forgets to look up many days...."  Anne smiled, "So often did Angel and I sleep out under the stars in haystacks or in the city streets that some days I just forget how amazing it is just to stare at the universe without having to worry about marauders or how to find breakfast the next morning."  He lay down, "What was it like, to live at the mercy of the world?"  "It wasn't easy.  I had to find ways to feed Angel from offering to help someone for a day in exchange for dinner and a place to sleep to sitting on the street just waiting and praying.  Angel would sing, dance, or play the fiddle to attract attention, I would offer to play piano at a pub or so, but we never begged.  Angel and I are both too proud to beg- not to ask, but to beg.  We ate well once a month, if that, but we loved it once we were out of the city and in the country.  We fancied that we were wandering minstrels trying to find a lord or lady who would employ our services for a little while.  Angel would say that we were Maid Marrion and her lady-in-waiting Sarah on our way to meet Robin Hood.  We would sleep at the base of a tree, within its branches, in haystacks, or wherever we happened to be when dusk fell.  We travelled from little town to little town, finding that the country people were so much kinder than the city folks.  If I did not have to worry about who was after me, I think that I would have just stayed in the woods for the rest of my life.  It was wonderful, and we had to be so creative to survive and we had the best relationship, relying only on one another for company and comfort.  That is why she and I are so close- we had to be to stay living at the mercy of the elements."  He let stillness hang in the air for a moment, "I can't imagine living like that, without the stability of a specific home, income, and meal schedule."  She turned over on her stomach and plucked a daisy from the earth, "When you have no real choice, there is no doubt in your heart that it will be a hard transition, but I had an idea that I could do it- God would not throw me to the wind without having a plan for me to get through it, and even if He would toss me out there as a trial, I knew that God would not just let a little one such as Angel be at the mercy of nothingness.  I think it was nice to not have to worry about money for once- the only thing that I ever worried about was food, after all, as Angel once told me, the ancient Celts wandered the lands, sleeping wherever they lighted before the Anglo-Saxon people drove them to settle on the island.  The food issue was only because both she and I are vegetarians, like the Shelley's were."  She tucked the daisy in his button hole and sat up.  He reached up and tugged on her shoulder, causing her to fall backward into the grass.  It did not take long for her to realize how calm and peaceful it was to be outside staring out at the stars with her closest friend at her side.  It also did not take her long to drift off to sleep to the cricket song.

The next day Anne awoke in her own bed, wondering how she got there.  Angel bounded into her room, "Mum!  Guess what...?"  Anne smiled as Angel clamoured over Anne and plopped down on the bed.  Anne raised an eyebrow, "Kid, I just got up, my brain is still adjusting, what?"  Angel pulled her mother up to sit and whispered in her ear, "Mum...I think he likes you."  Anne's mind was still foggy as she cleared the sleep from her eyes, "What?  Of course he likes me, what are you talking about?"  Angel rolled her eyes, "No Mum, I think he likes you...he brought you in here last night and tucked you in- see, you're still wearing your dress from yesterday.  Then comes the good part- he kissed you!  I know, I was watching, 'cept don't tell him, 'cause he didn't see me at the door."  Anne crossed her legs under the covers, "And where did you see him kiss me?"  Angel grinned, "He kissed your forehead, like you do to me when you tuck me in.  I think that I may be halfway to winning our bet...."   Anne sighed, "Angel, please, don't bring that up- if you win, I will be the determinant of the winner, not you."  Angel bounded off the bed, "Whatever, I know what I know, and I only invest in safe stocks."  Angel vanished out the door.  Anne sighed and went to shower.  She only had a few hours to pack before they had to leave for Belfast.

Angel insisted that she and Jade had to sit together on the train; Nigel decided to sit by himself, leaving Anne to sit by Severus.  She stared out the window without really noticing anything that happened on the train.  Angel and Anne enlightened their seatmates with tales of most of the towns that they passed and what sort of things they did there.  They crossed to Ireland and continued the trip, arriving in Belfast the next morning for the convention.  Angel immediately lost any qualms she may have had about returning to Ireland to find her accent had melted into something more American- once she was amongst her kinfolk she began to resume her native graces.  They went to the workshops and scheduled events together, feeling that there was safety in numbers.  That evening came the ball.

Anne and Angel got ready together; sharing a room meant having girl time to get dolled up together.  Anne helped Angel into her robes, the ones that Anne had given her for Christmas.  She pulled Angel's hair back into a ponytail with wisps of her truly Celtic hair framing her face.  Angel danced around the room as her mother slipped into the same dress that she had worn that day when the Malfoy's had interrupted her class and spilled her past across the floor.  She pulled her black robes with the bell sleeves over top of the dress to hide her Dark Mark and sat down before the dresser mirror to plait her hair into a crown around her head with the extra hair hanging down her back.  She and Angel met Jade and Adelaide in the hall.  Jade wore a long black dress with deep red embroidered curls bordering the top of the bodice and outlining where the skirt and the bodice were joined.  Adelaide looked like she should have been heading to a street corner rather than to a formal ball.  Her tight leather strapless dress did not come up far enough on her chest or far enough down past her hips.  Her red lipstick and spike heels with straps which wrapped halfway up her legs completed the look.  They waited in the hall for the men.  Nigel stepped out into the hall in a formal tux, offering to escort his granddaughter to the ball.  Severus locked the door behind him and turned to see Anne adjusting the emerald coloured glass and chain belt that Angelique wore under the emerald open front robes over the matching emerald dress.  Angel turned to Severus as her mother finished her adjustment, "Hey!  Look, I'm Celtic!"  He nodded and turned his attention to Anne, "Milady," he offered his arm to her, "Might I have the honour to be your escort?"  Anne blushed slightly, "You may escort me, but I doubt there is honour in the task."  He shrugged, "There is."  She shook her head, "Whatever you say."

They walked the few blocks to the hall, laughing and joshing the entire way.  Angel proudly walked in between Nigel, who, with Jade, was leading the party, and Severus, who, with Anne, followed.  Adelaide brought up the rear.  They entered the hall and found themselves in a beautifully decorated ballroom with chandeliers and candelabra lighting the dancers, most of who were already on the dance floor.  Nigel went about his way, Adelaide latched onto the nearest man who was not dancing, while Jade, Anne, Severus, and Angel worked their way to a vacant bench where, as Angel put it, they 'set up camp'.  Two hours into the evening and the entire party had been out dancing at least once.  Nigel asked Angel if she would mind dancing while Jade scanned the crowd for her former classmates.  She found one, but it was the one that she least wanted to see.  He approached her, "Well, Miss Riddle, fancy seeing you here."  Jade raised an eyebrow, "Draco Malfoy, what a surprise.  Where is your harem?"  He was slightly taken aback.  He shrugged, "I don't have one.  Would you care to dance?"  It was Jade's turn to be in shock, "Pardon?  Did you just ask me to dance?"  He nodded.  She crossed her arms over her chest, "After the way you treated me last year?  I don't know if I should even consider it.  Give me one good reason."  He stood there a bit uncomfortably, "Um...because I asked nicely..." his eyes glimmered, he had just remembered a bit of Jade's own advice, "and you'll only waste your life away if all you do is stand against the wall and watch it happen to everyone else; now shut up and dance."  Jade gave him a grin, she had been beat by her own words, "Fine, you win this time, but I'll get you yet, Draco Malfoy!"  Anne watched the two make their way to the heart of the dance floor, wondering what exactly was going on between the two somewhat enemies.

Jade wondered why they were traversing so deep into the crowd, "Draco, why over here?"  He dropped his voice to a whisper and glanced around, "So my father doesn't-"  Draco never got to finish his sentence, Lucius waltzed by with Adelaide, "Well, well, well, son...you finally got her.  Good job- her father will be proud."  Draco glared at his father, "Father!"  When he turned his attention back to Jade, her gaze pierced through his soul, "The only reason that you are dancing with me is because of my father, isn't it?"  Draco stammered, "N-no!  Jade, I-"  She cut him off, "You what?  You want to dance to make daddy happy?  Well screw that!"  She turned and left, leaving Draco to stare after her, only his thoughts to accompany, "That's not it at all, Jade- I really did rather like you.  Blast, dad!  I don't care now, anyways!  Hmpf- I don't think I'd care if she were dead...really...oh bloody hell...."

Jade approached Anne with the demeanour of a cat that had been dragged from its hiding place.  Anne watched as Jade flopped down to slouch on the bench, "Jade, you look as though you have just been force fed a lemon- untwist that sour look from your face and tell me what is going on."  Jade sighed, "The only reason he asked was so he and his father would please my father.  There was no other motive behind it, just his own benefit."  Anne gave Jade a quick hug, "Hon, you're going to find out that there are so many folk out there who don't think of anyone besides themselves.  There is nothing you can do to spot them, if it is not a blatantly obvious fact.  How about you go dance with Angel- she is not doing anything right now, and I think that she would be absolutely thrilled."  Jade nodded and went off to find her little friend.  After their dance, Angel bounded over to Anne, "C'mon, Mum!  I'm never going to win our bet with you just sitting there!"  Anne blushed, "You want me to take Jade's advice?"  Angel nodded, "Yeah, shut up and dance."  Angel skipped off; Anne sighed, her daughter was getting a bit more like Jade each day- or was it that Jade was getting a bit more like her daughter?  She couldn't tell.  Severus rose and offered her his hand, "Well, shall we take the advice so kindly given by Angel?"  Anne smiled, "Sure, why not?"  They began to dance, Anne laughing and smiling as she listened to him tell her of a year in his childhood when at the Belfast convention he had slipped a snake onto the refreshments table with the help of Vanessa and Robert, which had caused Adelaide to scream.  Robert had quickly scooped up the snake and the three pranksters had disappeared into the crowd, leaving Adelaide to try to explain herself, not only to the other wizards, but to Nigel as well.  Anne grinned teasingly, "Perhaps that is why Adelaide distanced herself from you- she doesn't seem like the type who would like to be surprised by a snake."  He shook his head, "I think she blames me for everything bad that has happened to the family since I was disowned- true, some of it was my fault, but not all of it!"  He lowered his voice to a whisper, "She's the one who went and slept with Voldemort- all the repercussions of that are most certainly not my fault."  Anne smiled, "Not in the least bit.  Do you want to step outside for a moment, get some air?"  He shook his head, "Not really...but if you want to..."  She shrugged, "No- I was just wondering if you were interested- I kind of feel the same way."  There was a slight bit of an awkward pause before Severus spoke again, "Anne, what is this 'bet' that I keep hearing Angel reference?"  Anne shook her head, "Nothing really- just a silly idea of hers that I bought into for a moment and then later realized that I would probably regret."  The look on his face told Anne that he was not satisfied with that answer; she sighed and continued, "Angel thinks that I will fall in love again before May first of this upcoming year."  She could tell that he was going to prompt her to tell more.  He did, "Who with?"  Tentatively, Anne responded, "Um...you."  He looked amused, "So you placed a bet?"  Anne quickly retorted, "On her request."  Severus was not finished with the inquisition, "Do you think she will win it?"  Anne cast her eyes down, "Honestly, Severus, I can't say- the entire future is so clouded- I mean, I could end up leaving again, or even dead, and then she would lose."  He pressed further, "What if the bet were due today?"  Anne was obviously uncomfortable by the tone of her voice, "I still can't say.  My emotions are still so skewed that I can't identify what is what."  He raised his brow, unsatisfied with her response, "You cannot tell if you are in love or not?"  Anne sighed, "No- but isn't friendship enough?"  The song they had been dancing to ceased; he shook his head and stopped their motion, "I don't know."  Severus turned his back to her and left.  Anne hmpf'ed, "Damn!"  She made her way back to where Jade was sitting.  For a moment, they both watched as Severus opened the door and quitted the ball for the Belfast night.  Jade turned to Anne, "Where's he off to?"  Anne tossed her hands up and let them fall with a smack to her lap, "Heaven only knows- I think it was something I said."  Jade gave Anne an amused grin, "Well, neither of us is having the luck tonight with the not-so-fair sex, are we?"  Anne returned the grin, "I guess not- and it would look sort of odd to these folks here if we danced with one another, eh?"  Jade laughed, "Yeah- it's alright for an adult lass to dance with a little lady such as Angel, but the people around here would look at us a bit strangely if we suddenly decided to do our own thing."  Anne spotted Angel out dancing with Nigel, "At least Angel found a dance partner...."  Jade nodded, "She sure did; now why don't you tell me exactly what exchange took place out there that would have made Severus leave- we'll see if we can't figure out how to straighten this mess out."  Anne told Jade the whole story, "So then, after I asked him if friendship wasn't enough, he told me that he didn't know and turned and left.  Jade, how else can I say that I don't want to get into anything because this year held so many reminders of the love I lost and I don't want to take that chance again?  How do you say, 'No, I can't love you because of the memory of my dead husband' without hurting someone?"  Jade leaned back against the wall, "He knows about Jon, right?"  Anne nodded, "Well, Annelise Schetzek, I think that the best solution is just to remind him of what you have been through and tell him exactly what is on your mind- Severus deals with things in a straightforward manner.  He may have forgotten, well, not forgotten, but not thought about what you had to face with Jon when he responded- after all, no matter how hard he tries to deny it, he is only human."  Anne fiddled with her scarab broach, "What if he still doesn't get it?  I don't want to lose his confidence, but I also am not ready to take that leap again- and if that is the only way that I can keep him..."  Jade gave Anne a one-arm hug, "Anne, I somehow doubt that Severus would ever be that dense- I mean, he can be really dense...but not that bad! and if he is not willing to wait for you, then no matter how hard it is to admit it, he is not worth your worry."  Anne laughed a little, "Thanks Jade- how did you get so wise?"  Jade shrugged, "You live, you learn."  Anne nodded, "Can you tell Nigel and Angel that I am going to go find Severus and take your advice?"  Jade rose, "You can count on me- be careful out there, Belfast is really rough at night."  Anne smiled, "Jade, I can take care of myself- I have my bodice dagger tucked in here somewhere."  Jade turned to tell Nigel and Angel what was going on, while Anne turned to track down Severus.

Anne walked back toward their hotel.  She decided that she should take the shortcut Angel had shown them through an alley rather than to take the longer route around.  She could see the hotel through the alleyway as she heard motion off to her right from near a fire escape.  A rough pair of hands grabbed her from behind and the person from near the fire escape stepped in front of her, "What have we here?  A little lady all dressed up for us- pretty thing!"  Anne's eyes flashed with anger, "Let me go this instant!"  The man in front of her sneered, "Why, what do you have to fear?  She's feisty..."  Anne jammed the heel of her shoe into the foot of the man behind her; he let her arms free, "I am Annelise Marrion Schetzek- you will rue the day you were born should you try to harm me."  The man from behind her groaned.  She noticed that the man in front of her was thin and dark haired while out of the corner of her vision she noticed the man behind her moving painfully to her side.  He was stocky and blonde, "Great," Anne thought, "an idiot and his thug:  just like the Malfoys- I should be used to this..."  The blonde grinned at the defiant woman trapped in the alley, "Aww, she wants to play hard to get!"  The thin man nodded to his companion, "She is going to try to make this difficult...."  Both men lunged at her, "All right, not like the Malfoys- whatever."  She drew her bodice dagger and let it glint in the distant light of a streetlamp.  The thin man grabbed at her waist, so she kicked him in the groin.  As she leapt over his crouching body, the blonde man tripped her.  She felt herself falling and caught herself with one hand- the other clutched her dagger.  The blonde man knelt over her and attempted to choke her from behind.  Anne rolled her eyes, "That’s inefficient."  She kicked up hard, jabbing him in the back with the heel of her shoe.  He yelped in pain, so she repeated the attack until he let go and fell to the side.  She clamoured to her feet, but by this time, the thin man had recovered and caught her with a right hook.  Her lip split as her face collided with the brick wall of one of the buildings lining the alley.  The impact did not break her nose, but it began to bleed immediately.  Realizing the severity of her new position, she quickly pulled herself together, ignoring the blood, and thrust with her dagger at the thin man.  He backed off for a moment, but his companion made the mistake of charging at Anne.  She felled him with a swift kick to the knee that crunched as she shattered the kneecap.  The thin man stared at the tigress before him in absolute shock before he turned and ran the opposite way down the alley.  Anne replaced her bodice dagger and pulled her handkerchief from where she had tucked it in her bodice, clasping it to her freely bleeding nose.  She noticed that her right hip was throbbing as she made her way to the hotel and into the lobby- she realized that she must have hurt it in either the fall, or her collision with the wall.  The desk clerk gazed at her in shock, "Miss, do you need help?"  She shook her head and realized that it too hurt, "No, but call the police and report an assault in the alley on the tenant of room three hundred-fifty three."  The clerk dialled as Anne waited for the lift.  It arrived, she boarded, and as she did, she heard the clerk following her instructions.  As she exited the lift, she began to feel dizzy.  She dug into the inner pocket in her robes and discovered that her room key had vanished during the fight.  She knew that she was going to pass out soon- her dizziness was worsening and her head throbbed.  She stumbled across the hall and managed to knock on the door to room three hundred-fifty four as the world began to fade, "I only hope that Severus heard me...."  The hallway blacked out and Anne crumpled to the floor in a heap.

Severus heard a light tapping on his door, "Go away," he responded.  His thoughts berated him, "Oh, come on, open the blasted door- it's not like it is going to kill you...."  He sighed and got up to see what was happening.  He was