She was a fairly unassuming 11 year old. He remembered vaguely that he had noticed the color of her hair and eyes on that first day, but other than that, she had no remarkable qualities.
Sorted into Gryffindor, she was quiet but bright, engaging with other students only seldomly, hoping to earn their friendship it seemed.
A muggleborn, she was new to magic as so many were, and she tried her best to learn everything she could.
Having only been a Professor in training at that point (under Horace Slughorn) Snape had gotten used to watching the students from afar. His apprenticeship, so to speak, lasted 6 years. During that time he watched her grow in her magical capabilities. She was bright, and very powerful. Other teachers gushed over her and many of them harbored a hope that she would one day teach at the school, both because of her power and because many considered her a kind of friend. But this was of little interest to Snape.
Other than the comments made professors and the occasional surprise at her brilliance, he rarely took notice of the red-haired girl. That was, until her sixth year.
Something about her had changed over the summer, she was suddenly no longer meek in her interactions with other students. Instead she commanded attention, displaying leadership skills that professors had seen lurking in the shadows for years. Snape noticed a strain of ambition in her more characteristic of a Slytherin than a Gryffindor, she talked of her plans to teach in America and eventually become a headmistress. Other students speculated she would run for Minister one day, but he tried to ignore the idle chatter of ignorant students who knew nothing of the world beyond school.
As the year progressed she was almost instructing students in each of her classes, including potions. She had a unique eye for alchemy, and it was rumored she had created a few concoctions of her own.
When Slughorn was too busy wheezing from one student to the next she offered to help struggling students, and they all seemed to hold her in high regard.
When her 7th year came, it was finally time for Snape to teach the classes he had shadowed for years.
Everything was going well, the students seemed to respect him, probably more out of fear than anything else but that was fine. More students payed attention to him than they ever had to the old goon who fancied himself head of house, even in his partial retirement.
Snape secretly hoped that the rumors were true, and after this year Horace would leave the school, leaving Slytherin in need of a new Head of House. But that was beside the point. For now he was determined to impress Dumbledore and make an impression on his students.
Snape circled the classroom, glancing at cauldrons as the 7th years attempted to brew the Draught of Peace, it was nearing midterms and each was somewhat frantic. That was, expect Lyria. She wasn't looking at her cauldron at all, instead she seemed to be helping the student next to her, a tall and thin boy also in Gryffindor that Snape had figured to be her best friend. He was dismal at potions.
"Artemis." He said loudly, breaking the silence and turning all heads to him. She met his dark gaze with the fiery blue of her own.
"Yes Professor."
He began to walk to her "Why are you not working on your own Draught? Surely Mr. Konelin can fend for himself."
The fire that ignited in her eyes startled him, but he showed none of his surprise.
"I have finished my potion and Colton needed help, and honestly I felt I needed to help because your instruction was unfair, Sir."
She stated it with as much authority as any professor could have, but he tried his best to remain resolute. Whispers broke out around the class at the disrespect she had shown.
"Miss Artemis, I assure you my instructions are complete and clear-" He was cut off when she stood and spoke.
"You neglected to tell the class that this is our midterm exam. It is unfair to test students for a grade without their knowledge or forewarning."
The class gasped, many of them checking their potions book making sure they had been doing things right.
Snape seethed. "Artemis you are out of line, 10 points from -" Again he was cutoff.
"No! What you are doing is a breach of protocol! Students should be informed of their examinations and allowed to prepare for them."
Angry at being cut off, slightly embarrassed that his student had figured out his plan, he fought to keep his voice calm.
"Detention Artemis… and for the rest of you, I suggest you resume your exam before you all share Ms. Artemis' fate."
He turned his back to the fuming red-head and walked among the now terrified students as they completed their draughts.
At the end of class students rushed for the door, all gossiping about the surprise exam.
"Artemis, stay." It was a command not a request.
The girl stayed in her seat, her bag neatly packed and placed on the desk in front of her.
No student had ever challenged him, and Snape was determined to make sure no student would again.
"You are to serve detention this Friday evening. And you shall not speak back to me or question the way I teach this class."
She met is gaze evenly, the calm in her eyes startled him, "Yes sir."
"Miss Artemis I believe you should inform me as to how you knew about the test."
She never dropped her eyes from his, "It was obvious, you made a quip about it in the last lecture and refused to answer questions the students asked of you today."
He was surprised she had caught onto such small slip ups, but remained straight faced.
"Very well. Your potion will be graded along with everyone else's, but I suggest you do not question me again." He said in a seething tone that made most students shrivel.
Instead she stood, not quite as tall as him but still tall fairly tall. She was an impressive figure to behold. Blue eyes blazing, red hair steaming around her shoulders, Snape couldn't help but be impressed by the girls fierceness.
"Permission to leave. Sir." She said, sharply.
"Granted." He gestured to the door and turned sharply on his heel to his office. He heard the door slam as she left.
Throughout the year he continued to be questioned by the Gryffindor, she caught onto every wrong move he made. Sometimes she was subtle, writing a note on her assignment, other times she openly questioned him or called him out in front of students, and in return he fired back. Snape couldn't help it. Either sarcastically or with his own expertise in potions he would retort, sometimes it made her quiet but other times he just had to move on and ignore her.
As her confidence seemed to grow, he noticed other things changed too. She no longer hung around the same group of friends she once did, she often sat alone at meals, and more than once he had caught her in the corridors after hours. Either sitting on a ledge by a window or in some corner reading. Each time he took away house points, but he almost felt bad about it, he had hid in the same places a long time ago...
Her behavior was curious, but he was so preoccupied with earning the role of Slytherin's Head of House that he focused on her rarely.
Eventually the end of the year came, he was given the full-time Positions position, and Horace had publicly announced his resignation, leaving the space open for Snape to become head of Slytherin House.
Over the years he heard other Professor talking about Artemis occasionally, either in the Teacher's commons or at dinner, rumor had it that she was to pursue a joint position with the Ministry and Hogwarts to help ascertain where her talents would be most useful. She had been working at the Ministry for some time and McGonagall had insisted she be offered an apprenticeship at the castle. The Ministry had insisted on being involved in the apprenticeship for some reason and Dumbledore had acquiesced to the agreement. Snape tried to ignore the talk, but was curious to see her around Hogwarts again.
As much as he hated to admit it, he had missed the way she stood up to him in class… it had been the only interesting part of his day, and in the years that had passed he often found himself looking for something to stimulate his intellect. Perhaps Artemis could be that something.
Lyria stood and looked at her new room, it was better than the shared dormitories for sure. She had her own bed space and bathroom, there was even a small office down a small set of stairs with a window into the lake.
She would have to get used to being in the dungeons after 7 years at the top of the highest tower, but to be honest she didn't mind. It was quiet and serene here, away from the Slytherin dorm, which she was finally privy to the location of, but close to the potions classroom for easy access. She set about unpacking her bags, thinking about what the next year would bring. Each semester she would be overseen by a different professor who would tutor her, but she would also rotate classrooms as a teaching assistant. In addition to mastering each subject, she was to observe how each Professor ran their classrooms and gather data on the administration practices of Hogwarts.
She had always said that being a Professor was not her goal, but secretly she was beginning to second guess herself. Maybe spending some time with the other professors would help her decide whether or not it was something that would be good for her. Besides, she was desperate to get away from the Ministry.
It had been a two years since she left Hogwarts but the castle had hardly changed. She was happy to realize that hardly anyone in the castle remembered her, the few Gryffindors that did nodded in her direction at the welcoming dinner, but otherwise she was left to herself. Lyria hoped the position in the castle would be less restricting and less... well terrible, than her one at the ministry, maybe she would have some time to do research of her own.
A clang to her right made her jump, realizing it was just a clock, she noted the time and hurried to unpack her clothes. She was to attend a social tonight with the other Professors, apparently each year they welcomed the school year by reserving The Three Broomsticks for an evening.
Hopefully she would get a chance to talk to McGonagall, she hadn't had the opportunity to thank her for recommending her for this position and inadvertently saving her from the Department of Mysteries. Not to mention she was still unsure what professor she would be working with this term and hoped McGonagall could enlighten her. She knew she was supposed to observe Muggle Studies, Astronomy, Ancient Runes, and Divination, but her advisor remained unknown.
As she tried to choose a suitable dress she began to get nervous, she was used to being around people older than her, in fact she got along best with people that were not her own age, but the prospect of being a colleague to her former teachers was a bit frightening.
She chose a dark red wine colored dress that framed her figure nicely without being revealing. It had a high collar but left her shoulders exposed, necessitating a strapless bra, and there was a slit up the right side that showed her leg as she walked. Pulling her red hair into a french braid that twisted into an elaborate bun and putting on some makeup, she topped off the look with golden earrings that dropped near her neck and she gave herself a once over. She looked quite mature if she said so herself.
There was a knock at the door and she slid on her golden heels as she made to answer it.
When she opened it Minerva McGonagall stood before her. She was wearing a red dress as well, hers was long sleeved and quite simple, but the professor made it look elegant.
Lyria beamed, "Professor! It's so good to see you!" They hadn't gotten a chance to talk at dinner.
McGonagall opened her arms and hugged the younger woman. "You too my dear, and please, call me Minerva."
"Thank you, Minerva." The older woman smiled, she had always liked the girl, and was happy to have her at the castle.
"Are you ready to go?"
"Yes of course." Lyria pulled the door closed behind her and tucked her wand into a hidden pocket in the dress.
The two made small talk as they walked towards Hogsmeade, Minerva caught her up on the castle gossip while Lyria updated her on Ministry gossip.
"Has the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor been tenured yet?"
McGonagall shook her head, "No, I'm afraid we are still testing people out, but each professor has been more dismal than the last."
Lyria couldn't help but smile, "Perhaps Snape could take another shot at it."
When Snape had first started his apprenticeship at the castle everyone knew he wanted the Defense position, but Dumbledore seemed adamant he stuck with potions.
"I am sure he longs for the chance but the Headmaster is quite unwavering on that particular issue."
Lyria sighed, "Oh well, I am sure he's only gotten better at scolding students since I left."
McGonagall gave a knowing smile, she had heard of all the trouble Lyria had caused the poor potions professor in her final year, and was also aware that Snape had seemed to miss the challenge she had provided.
"He doesn't have to be quite as stern without you there to keep him on his toes."
It was Lyria's turn to smile, "Well now that I am back perhaps I can start again." The two women gave a small laugh as they drew nearer to Hogsmeade.
Snape was the bane of most student's existence, and true, had been of hers, but there had always been a sort of respect the two had for each other. He never tried to calm her passion, instead challenging her, and in a way he had helped her become more confident in herself.
Nearing the end of her 7th year she had found herself taking more note of Snape, she was supposed to hate him, and sometimes he made it easy to hate him, yet he was so intriguing. But, she supposed, that was her weakness, passionate and mysterious men.
She shook her head at the childhood fantasy that had popped back into her mind, of them alone together, maybe him opening up to her. How silly.
Having been lost in her thoughts, Lyria was startled when McGonagall stopped her before the door.
"Now, I know you have no issue being around people your senior, but I want you to know that you belong here. You've earned this position, and frankly, the staff could use someone like you."
Lyria felt a small blush stain her cheeks at the woman's kindness and thoughtfulness, she always knew the right thing to say.
"Thank you Prof- I mean, Minerva. I hope the others are so accepting."
She smiled, "Oh not to worry, they will be."
And with that they entered the bar.