So I wasn't going to do this, but...guys, gals, give me some feedback. Let me know what I'm doing well and what I can improve on. It really helps me make a good story and meet some pretty awesome cats.

XoXo, Chi

Evangeline Delacroix stared up the dark shadow of the castle she knew to be the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was a bit daunting to stand there at the front door, looking up to the school she had only been to once before.

Years had passed since then of course. She only hoped that Horace Slughorn would feel gracious and grant her the request she had posed to Dumbledore about a week before via an owl that returned with an invitation to visit the school of magic, wonder, and, on occasion, danger.

"Hurry up, I ain't got all night," groused the ratty looking man she could only assume to be the night watchman. He had been waiting at the gates with a lantern to lead her to Dumbledore's hidden office. Without a word, she followed closely.

The man continued his grumblings as they walked, meaning he wasn't really paying attention to the guest and was more troubled by his own problems. A scruffy looking cat trotted alongside him, meowing loudly every so often as though to agree with him on a point he had made. That left Evangeline to study her surroundings.

It wasn't her first choice; that was for sure. The climate was not to her liking (far too cold) and neither was the décor (far too dreary). Of course, compared to her beloved Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Versailles would look dreary. And the warmth of Southern France! Oh, she missed it more then than when she had first graduated two years before!

The harsh grunt of "Fizzlers" brought her back to the then and there as a stone gargoyle jumped to one side and revealed the entrance to the Headmaster's office. As the man started up a stone staircase, Evangeline followed after him, her dark, auburn hair flowing behind her as her black robes whipped about her ankles.

That had always been her woe at Beauxbatons, the bright colors. Yes, they were lovely, but she much preferred a midnight black. It was elegant and mysterious and even romantic, in a sense. And besides, she looked much more fetching in it than a putrid green or baby blue.

Once more she was dragged rudely from her thoughts by a loud rapping on the door. "Yoo got a visitor, Dumbledore."

The door swung open fully, granting admittance to whoever had come calling. Her guide stepped back, holding out an arm to usher her into the room before her.

All at once the courage and self assuredness Evangeline had built up vanished and left a lump of dread settle hard in the pit of her stomach, making the acid there splash up and lick at the beginning of her esophagus. Swallowing back her nervousness, the young witch stepped into the large office and braced herself like a Prisoner of Azkaban awaiting sentencing before the Wizengamot.

There were only two other occupants in the room; one she recognized and the other she didn't.

Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk with his hands folded and bright blue eyes peering over the rim of his half-moon spectacles. His beard and hair seemed whiter than they had when she had glimpsed him at the European Wizarding Student Exchange which lasted only a single year. Then again, that came with age.

Slowly, Evangeline slid her cerulean gaze over the second man, much younger than Dumbledore. She would almost say he wasn't much older than herself, but there was something about him, something that made him almost as old as the Headmaster.

That man had seen more than any one person should.

It was clear in his piercing black eyes as he stood there, arms folded across his chest and glaring at her. His ebony hair was greasy and hung about his face like an badly kempt curtain in a theatre and contrasted sharply with his pallid complexion. He looked like death warmed over.

"Ah, Miss Delacroix. It is good to see you made it safely," said Dumbledore, his voice as kind and sagely as she recalled it.

Evangeline dipped her head in a polite greeting. Customarily, she would have kissed both of his cheeks, but decided against it. These Britons were an odd lot that didn't care much for affection. "Thank you for inviting me, Headmaster."

"Please," he raised a hand as though to stop her, "call me Albus."

His words brought a soft smile to her lips as she again inclined her head gratefully at the allowance. "Albus."

The raised hand motioned towards the dark-haired man standing irately to the side. "And this is our Potions Master, Severus Snape; your mentor."

"What?"

The response was simultaneous as the young pair gazed at the man in bewilderment. Apparently, Severus was just as ill-informed as she had been.

"Sir, I hardly think that I am qualified to mentor someone," Severus said, his tone trying to stress a point Evangeline knew nothing of and was apparently never to.

Albus shook his head, just as sagely as he always did. "Miss Delacroix seeks someone to train her in the art which is Potion making. You are a master, Severus, I feel that makes you more than qualified."

"Albus, what about Professor Slughorn? I would really be more comfortable studying at his hand than-"

"Than…?" Severus snapped defensively as he rounded on her suddenly, actually making her jump back. "Than what, Miss Delacroix? Do you even know me?"

Evangeline shook her head, making the auburn waves tremble about her face. The gesture seemed to make him calm down. His gaze was focused on her hair. "No, I don't. I was just going to suggest a more experienced professor. You don't seem to be much older than me."

Her voice came out softer and more timid than she had hoped it would. Swallowing hard, she straightened herself a bit and set her jaw in as determined a stance as she could muster. "Youth aside, if you are a master I would be honored to learn from you."

"Absolutely not."

"Severus."

"No, Dumbledore, I refuse. Why does she need me anyways?"

That statement replace the shyness of Evangeline with indignance.

"Who said I needed you?"

"Well if you're here at two in the morning begging for my assistance-!"

"I am not begging!"

Dumbledore watched with a bemused smile as the two before him bickered like small children. Normally he would have intervened, but this was the most life Severus had shown in months.

"Well, if you don't need my help…" Severus' voice was cold and almost…taunting.

Evangeline balled her fists in the folds of her robes and gritted her teeth to fight back the venomous words she wanted to sling at that pompous, arrogant whelp of a man. It was a hard task, but finally she got her temper tamped down and brought herself humble enough to do what she hadn't wanted to.

"Please, Professor Snape, I need documented training before the Salem Witches' Institute will let me have a job," she said softly, almost inaudibly.

Severus smirked as he stood there watching her with his arms still folded. It was a temporary victory though, the smirk faded and he was left with his usual dour expression. "I'm afraid I must still decline."

So that was it. Her dream of teaching shot down like a Yuletide fowl.

"Severus, teach the girl. It's not going to do you any harm. Besides, she's right pretty this one," stated a voice she couldn't recognize. It was probably one of the old headmasters that had been roused from sleep by their argument.

Severus frowned, but grudgingly looked her over again, studying her as though she were a rack of ribs for sale. After a long moment, he resigned himself with a simple, "Fine."

Turning on his heel, Severus Snape stormed out of the room. His dark robes billowed out about him, making him look like some giant bat.

Evangeline could feel her heart swell with joy and it was all she could do not to jump in school-girlish glee. Looking to Dumbledore, she saw that the old man was smiling softly to her.

"The house-elves have already brought your things to your room. Once you leave here, just follow the torches. A path has been lit for you by Filch," he stated in his kind, paternal tone.

Inclining her head to him a third time, the Beauxbatons girl left to settle into her new home close to the dungeons where she would be a "student-teacher" to Severus Snape.

Goodness, Dumbledore mused as his twinkling blue eyes followed Evangeline's departure, Hogwarts is going to have an interesting year.