Severus
Severus Snape unwillingly walked towards the staff common room. Now that the war was over, there would be a new year at Hogwarts where the students would be completing the year they had missed.
The events that took place after Lord Voldemort was defeated brought back many of those who lost their lives in the war. Severus, Albus Dumbledore, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, James and Lily Potter and countless others were alive. Severus could not believe his eyes when he saw Lily in the flesh. Lily whom he loved more than his own life, who was his life. She was alive, and she had forgiven Severus for his greatest mistake. Lily's return, however, was bittersweet. She was still married to James Potter and there was no changing that. James had reached out to Severus and thanked him for protecting Harry. In fact, everybody thanked Severus for his bravery and considered him a Hero, which embarrassed him to no end.
Severus continued to walk at a steady pace, still in thought, when he felt a small push.
"Ouch" cried a soft voice.
Severus looked in front of him. A woman, who was now on the ground. Her luggage was sprawled over the ground as well, and amid everything that had just happened, she was struggling to get up. Great, another Nymphadora, Severus thought with a groan. Severus held out his hand to her and she took it clumsily. With significant effort on her part, she finally stood up and Severus was able to look at her. The woman appeared to be quite young, she was at least a foot shorter than Severus, with wavy honey coloured hair. She had an extremely beautiful face, and Severus had to wonder if she was Veela. Her eyes were the most striking feature on her face, a warm golden brown that he lingered more than he wanted to.
"I am so, so sorry!" exclaimed the woman frantically. "I think I packed too much…it's just…sort of everywhere". She looked hopelessly at the ground.
"May I ask who you are?"
"Oh! Yes, of course, I'm sorry - I'm Amaryllis Swan." She held out her hand. "I'm going to be teaching Muggle Studies this year."
"I see" said Severus flatly. He took her hand for only a moment, and tried not to let his thoughts wander to Charity Burbage, the previous Muggle Studies Professor.
"You can call me Milly if you prefer, I know Amaryllis can be a mouthful". She laughed nervously.
"I am Professor Severus Snape. I teach –"
"Defence Against the Dark Arts" Amaryllis said quickly. She looked bashful. "I did my research on all the staff before I got here." Severus said nothing. "Could you please you please direct me to the staff room?"
Severus groaned internally but nodded. She tried to pick up her belongings but seemed flustered, and Severus got the feeling that she felt nervous under his gaze, like many of his students. Exasperated and impatient, Severus waved his hand and her belongings packed themselves neatly into her suitcase, it then drifted off in the direction of Dumbledore's office. "It's fine" he said when he saw her startled expression. "It will return to you when your living quarters are allocated".
After what felt like an eternity of small talk, Severus and Amaryllis had finally reached the staff common room. Severus narrowed his eyes at Dumbledore whose expression seemed to be very amused at the sight of Severus and the younger woman. He took a seat next to Minerva McGonagall, who thankfully remained expressionless, and Amaryllis sat on his other. Horace Slughorn smiled widely at him from across the room.
"Thank you for joining us" said Dumbledore. "As you all know, the war is over, but, there is still fear amongst our students. There are families, who have with great difficulty, decided to allow their children to return to Hogwarts and it is our responsibility to ensure their safety and wellbeing. Death Eaters are still in hiding and while the Ministry is doing their best to find them, we should still be on alert here at Hogwarts. There will be students from Slytherin who will also be returning, and we must welcome them with open arms and not alienate them from the other students. There will also be two new students joining us that will be getting sorted today." Severus shared the same surprised expression the other staff members had upon hearing the last part of the news. Dumbledore, however, continued speaking. "At this time, I would like to welcome Amaryllis Swan, our new Muggle Studies Professor". He gestured for Amaryllis to stand up.
"Hi, I'm Amaryllis – as you heard just before." She laughed nervously again. "But you can call me Milly. I look forward to getting to know you all and working with you." She sat down almost immediately.
"Thank you, Amaryllis" said Dumbledore, smiling at her. "I would also like to welcome Sirius Black to our staff as our new flying instructor. I hope you all can make him feel welcome."
Severus's extremities felt numb in anger, he was sure Dumbledore had purposely chosen to not mention this to him before the school year began.
"Amaryllis" said Dumbledore, now looking at her. "I take it you will want to get settled into your living quarters. I hope you do not mind living in the quarters of our previous Muggle Studies Professor."
"Of course not, Albus" she said warmly. Her tone seemed eager to please.
"The password is 'buckbeak'. You may change it when you enter - Severus, if you don't mind, could you please show Amaryllis to her room?" he suggested. His blue eyes twinkled merrily.
"Of course, Headmaster" Severus answered sarcastically. He stood up. "This way." Without waiting on her answer, he spun on his heel, retreating from everybody before they could get the change to speak to him.
"I'm sorry that Albus is making you do this" said Amaryllis as she quickened her pace to keep up with him. "If you just give me the directions, I'm sure I can find it myself". Severus heard the doubt in her voice and slowed his pace, they walked silently before reaching Charity Burbage's old living quarters.
"This is your room" said Severus. He turned to leave when a loud bark stopped him in his tracks. That better not be Black, he thought with a sneer. He turned again to Amaryllis's direction, and watched a large, furry sheep dog run towards her happily.
"There you are!" exclaimed Amaryllis crossly, even though she was smiling. "I thought I'd have to send out a search party". She kneeled on the ground to pat the dog and it licked her face. Severus crinkld his nose. "This is Momo" she said, looking up at him. "I was scared I wasn't allowed to bring him to Hogwarts but Albus said he didn't mind thankfully!" Momo left Amaryllis and began to sniff Severus's trousers with interest.
"Momo" she hissed and quickly pulled Momo away.
Amaryllis
Though a little bare, her iving quarters looked quite homely.
"What do you think, Momo?' asked Amaryllis. She found the bedroom and flopped on to the bed. She patted the spot next to her, giving Momo permission to come on to the bed, he jumped up and curled himself next to her. As she began to pat him, Amaryllis thought about her interaction with Severus Snape, the Hogwarts staff member she felt the most nervous to meet. She guessed that he would be quiet, not much for small talk but he seemed polite. Albus and the rest of the staff seemed nice as well. She seemed to get on well with Minerva and Horace Slughorn, though the former, much like Severus, did not speak much. The exact opposite of Slughorn.
Amaryllis was excited to be going to the welcoming feast, she decided to wander the school grounds to help her relax. She walked slowly through the corridor, taking her time to look at every portrait. Near the staircase she saw Dumbledore talking to a dark-haired man.
"Amaryllis! I would like to introduce you to Sirius Black" said Dumbledore, when she neared them.
Sirius looked at her and smirked, and Amaryllis had to admit he was very attractive. She watched his grey eyes move up her body to her face, and while she wasn't vain, she could tell he was impressed. Having met men like Sirius before, Amaryllis merely smiled and held out her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Sirius" she said, as Sirius took her hand. "You can call me Milly if you like. I'll be teaching Muggle Studies."
"Likewise, Milly" he said with a wink. Amaryllis internally rolled her eyes and let go of his hand. "You seem pretty young to be a professor."
"I'm not that young" insisted Amaryllis. "I'm 25."
"Well, I'm older than you and I consider myself pretty young, so you must be really young" said Sirius. Amaryllis laughed awkwardly, not knowing what more to say.
"Anyway, I should get going" she said and pretended to look apologetic. "I was going to have a bit of a wander before the feast. It was nice meeting you" she quickly added. Sirius smirked at her again before turning his attention back to Dumbledore.
Severus
It was almost 7pm, the students would arrive soon, and Severus would be seeing Sirius Black. Typical, he thought, that Sirius did not attend the staff meeting.
Severus arrived at the Great Hall to see students swarm in and fill the seats of their respective House tables. He took his seat on the right side of Dumbledore. Amaryllis Swan walked awkwardly to the table, clueless as to where she could sit.
"You may sit next to Severus, if you wish" suggested Dumbledore. He ignored the visible scowl Severus was giving him. Amaryllis looked apologetic as she sat down on the empty chair on Severus's other side. Sirius casually walked in to the Great Hall, snapping the attention from almost every female student, he sat next to Amaryllis.
"Snape" he acknowledged. Perhaps he was the only person whose opinion of Severus did not change. Sirius looked at him momentarily before turning his attention to Amaryllis.
"I'm so nervous!" She whispered loud enough that Severus could hear.
"Oh please, I'm sure they'll love you" replied Sirius. Severus rolled his eyes. He overlooked the students before catching Harry Potter's eye at the Gryffindor table. Unlike Sirius, Harry had developed respect for Severus. He noticed that Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were looking at him as well, they looked away immediately as the three fell in to a whisper.
The two new students that Dumbledore had mentioned were both sorted in to Gryffindor.
After Dumbledore's annual speech, he introduced Sirius as the new flying instructor, which, as expected, was received with a loud cheer, especially from the Gryffindor table. Next, Amaryllis was introduced. She was well received as well, though she received additional catcalls and whistles, that the staff seemed displeased with and gave the students a warning glare. The feast began, and the Great Hall was filled with chatter and laughter. For the first time Severus was not bothered.
"So what school did you go to, Milly?" asked Sirius through a mouthful of chicken.
"I didn't actually go to school" replied Amaryllis "I mean I did - at the start - but then I dropped out". Severus's interest peeked. Sirius opened his mouth to respond but the booming voice of Rubeus Hagrid cut across him from the opposite end of the table.
"Nice ter meet yer, Am-pril-iz. Rubeus Hagrid" he introduced himself "I'm the Keeper o' Keys and Grounds here at Hogwarts, an' Professor o' Care o' Magical Creatures!" Severus noticed that Minerva looked particularly exasperated at Hagrid's voice so close to her ears.
"It's really nice to meet you!" Amaryllis yelled back. "It's actually Am-a-ri- liss but you can call me 'Milly!"
"Milly it is! I'll talk ter yeh later" said Hagrid.
Severus was relieved that they weren't talking to each other across him anymore, but it was short lived when he heard Sirius's voice.
"How are you settling in" he asked Amaryllis.
"Good!" she replied happily. "My room is nice and Momo's settling in well too."
"Who's Momo?"
"He's my dog -"
"Yeh got a dog?" Hagrid loudly interjected. Initially annoyed, Severus felt astounded that the the half man-half giant could hear Amaryllis from that distance.
"His name is Momo!" she yelled back to him.
"Yeh'll have ter introduce him ter my Fluffy!" Hagrid said in excitement. "I'm sure they'll ge' along!"
Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. He would be happy once the feast finished so he could go back to his quarters and be in solitude once again. He had done enough socialising for one day.
Harry
Harry, Ron and Hermione were surprised that there were two new students at Hogwarts. He looked at his girlfriend Ginny Weasley, her expression was quizzical. The two students, both female and in seventh year, sat a couple of seats down from him. Harry noticed that they were being stared at by almost every student in the Great Hall. Neville Longbottom, who sat closest to the girls, spoke first.
"Hi, I'm Neville Longbottom" he said kindly. "Welcome to Gryffindor."
"I'm Anna Lindsay" one of the girls said shyly. She gave Neville a small smile. Harry noted that she was smaller than the other girl, with dirty blonde hair that was bushy like Hermione's. "This is Isabella Parish." She gestured to the other girl.
Isabella was taller and more athletically built than Anna. She also had blonde hair, but it was the colour of champagne, sleek and tied in to a tight ponytail. She was very attractive. Isabella didn't acknowledge Neville at all. She stood up, with a haughty expression painted on her face, and left the table without a word.
"Yeah, she barely spoke to me when we first met…" said Anna, she looked uneasily at Neville.
"Did she say her name was Parish?" whispered Ron so that only Harry and Hermione could hear him.
"Yes, why?" Hermione whispered back.
"The Parish's are a pure blood family, like the Malfoys" Ron said lowly. He looked at the spot Isabella had just vacated. "I wonder what she's doing here".
