Reminisce In the Twilight
Disclaimer: I do not, I repeat, do NOT own J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter Series" or their characters. As much as I would like to own it and make thousands of dollars, I don't. But I do own the Original Characters in this fictional story, in other words, you steal them and I sue! Mwa ha ha ha ha! Ahem, sorry. I got carried away. But as I was saying, in short: Harry Potter = Not mine = Don't sue. Thank You and enjoy.
Genre: Romance, Angst, Humor
Rating: Rated PG13 for now and will be R later on for sexual innuendo, adult situations, rape, sex, language, violence and death in later chapters.
Summery: It's Harry Potter's Seventh Year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But like every other year at Hogwarts, it's never normal. This time, He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named has hired a hit man by the name of Twilight Viper, and has sent him to kill Harry! Meanwhile, Professor Snape is not getting along with the new Muggles History and Literature teacher, who despises him for a reason beyond his knowledge, yet she claims he is responsible for one of her worst memories that has scarred her for life! Literally! Will either of them survive this year?
Chapter One: Summoned Beast
Caliginosity. The room was in utter darkness. No windows to shed light, not a lamp nor a candle. The room was in complete obscurity. The room seemed lonely and depressing from the absence of light. But in the depths of the murkiness of the room, a pair of red eyes pierced through the darkness, concentrated on their invisible surroundings in the empty pitch black room. Pupils that resembled a pair vertical paper thin slits traced the room in an unwavering glare. Suddenly there was a soft knock at the door. Suddenly, a ray of light intruded the darkness and revealed the pale skin of the owner of the pair of glowing eyes. The light revealed a figure in heavy black robes and a silver mask standing in the doorway. The shadowed figure gave a deep bow and slowly rose.
"My lord." The figure addressed the pale man in the center of the room.
"Lucius," the man with the snake-like eyes hissed, "What do I owe this interruption of my concentration?"
"Forgive me, My Dark Lord, but the assassin you requested has arrived." Lucius Malfoy told his master in a deep bow.
"Excellent, let them enter." The pale faced man told him.
Lucius bowed once more and stepped to the side. A thin muscular, broad-shouldered figure in black stepped into the light of the doorway. His face wrapped in a black cloth only showing his pale eyes full of malice and death. He wore a tight black suit that showed every muscle on his body and on the left breast was a crest of a half moon half sun. He bowed low and knelt down on one knee in respect to the Dark Lord.
"Lord Voldemort." The dark figure addressed the snake-eyed man in a low voice.
"So this is the assassin Lucius was singing praises about. Twilight Viper, was it? I hear your work is most satisfactory." Voldemort's lips curled in a wicked smile.
"Beyond satisfactory, I can assure you, my lord." The black cloaked assassin, known as 'Twilight Viper', assured him and stood at attention.
"Excellent. Do know of your objective?" Voldemort asked.
"To assassinate the one known as Harry Potter, am I correct, my lord?" Twilight Viper replied.
"Not just assassinate... Murder! Massacre! Mutilate! Sever! Kill! Destroy! I don't want him to just be dead, I want him to suffer as well! Painfully and slowly!" Voldemort raised his voice and smirked menacingly at the thought of it.
"It would be a pleasure, my lord." he bowed deeply.
"Excellent. Now, GO!" Voldemort gestured the black clad figure to leave his sight.
Twilight Viper stepped back out of the door way and gave one last bow as Lucius Malfoy shut the door.
"What did I tell you? I told you he would be more than trilled for you to take the job." Lucius smirked at the man in the black cloak.
"I thank you, Lucius." Twilight Viper bowed in gratitude, "I owe you."
Lucius grinned evilly, "You can repay me later."
"Of course, Lucius," Twilight Viper nodded, "Now if you don't mind, I shall take my leave."
With one last bow, the figure cloaked in darkness gracefully strode out of sight without another word as Lucius Malfoy stared after him with a mischievous smirk.
Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry. Dumbledore smiled up at the crest that hung above the doorway of the Great Hall, his eyes twinkled in anticipation of a new school year. He wore his best imperial violet robes for the occasion. He could hardly wait to greet his staff with open arms. His ears suddenly perked up to the sounds of echoing footsteps coming from the corridors. Dumbledore lowered his eyes and grinned as the first of his staff arrived. His eyes laid upon a rather aged, stern-looking witch, with her black hair pulled back in a bun with slight hints of grey, a black witch hat in her hands, and wore and square-rimmed spectacles upon her face. She wore robes of tartan, symbolizing her Scottish heritage.
"Minerva." Albus Dumbledore held out his arms in a greeting.
Witch gladly embraced the old wizard in a friendly hug, "Hello, Albus."
"How was your summer? It's been so long." Albus smiled as he slowly withdrew and held her at arms length.
Minerva McGonagall smiled warmly, "Same old, same old, Albus."
The two old friends chuckled heartily as another member of the staff entered the Great Hall with his robes billowing behind him with each stride. McGonagall and Dumbledore turned their attention to the young wizard, (Well, young compared to them), a thin man with sallow skin, a hooked nose, and his usual onyx robes he wore that rippled behind him. His eyes were of dark ebony, and his shoulder-length, greasy black hair shimmered in the light of the Great Hall.
"Must you be so cheery?" The younger wizard sneered, looking down on them over his crooked nose as he entered the room.
"Severus, my boy! Good to see you." Albus smiled, ignoring the remark as Minerva placed her hat upon her head.
"Albus. Minerva." Severus Snape nodded to them both.
"How are you, Severus?" Albus asked with those twinkling eyes.
"Albus, in only a few days I will be surrounded by insolent brats, chattering away as I try to teach, therefore leading to an explosion of a migraine caused by their annoying, squeaky voices. How do you think I feel?" Snape glared darkly.
"Glad to know you're looking forward to it, Severus." Minerva smirked and folded her arms.
Professor Snape merely sneered and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Albus and Minerva chuckled, same old Severus. Soon after an old wizard and a middle aged witch entered the room chatting about healing charms. The old wizard was half the Witch's size and wore vibrant blue robes, and the witch wore a nurses outfit, showing the fact that she was a Medi-Witch. Albus and Minerva greeted Poppy Pomfrey and Professor Filius Flitwick with a series of friendly embraces and hand shakes. Soon after a group of witches and wizards entered the room. Argus Filch, Rubeus Hagrid, Professor Binns, Madame Hooche, Irma Pince, Professor Lupin, Professor Sinistra, Professor Sprout, and Professor Vector, all chatting feverishly and greeted each other with smiles, hand shakes and what not. Professor Snape scowled at the sweet greetings everyone was passing around. He was surprised that they all didn't suffer from tooth decay as Lupin's salutations were sugar coated so heavily that it made Severus sick to his stomach.
Remus Lupin was quick to notice the sour look he received from Snape and smirked as he headed toward the Greasy Git. As he approached he heard Snape groan in displeasure and saw a pair of dark eyes roll under the strands of greasy hair.
"Good afternoon, Severus. How are you this fine day?" Lupin greeted as he stood before his former classmate all those years ago.
"Oh I am as fine as I can ever be. In fact, your presence has been made this day a glorious one." Severus told his fellow professor, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"That is wonderful to hear, Severus." Lupin smiled, ignoring his colleague's sarcasm.
Severus merely grunted something on the lines of 'disemboweling someone with a blunt object'. Lupin assumed it was directed towards him and merely shrugged and decided to leave the over-grown bat to himself.
"Ahh, Remus, it is good to see you back, my boy." Lupin turned to be greeted by the elderly Headmaster.
"It's good to be back, Albus." Lupin smiled.
"How have you been?" Albus asked with a flickering twinkle in his eye.
"Fairly well," Lupin grinned, "and yourself?"
"Never better." Albus chuckled, "Now, let's say we get this meeting started, eh?"
Lupin grinned and sat down in a chair amongst an entire row that had been provided for everyone. The other teachers soon followed suit and sat down. All, except Albus, who stood before everyone, and Professor Snape, who was still leaning against the wall, draped in shadow. Albus cleared his throat before speaking.
"Welcome, everyone, to another year at Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry! I can not provide words to explain how happy I am to see all the familiar faces that continue to stay here through all our greatest moments, and some of our worst. I encourage you all to give yourselves a round of applause. You've all deserved it."
"Hear, hear!" Filius Flitwick's voice could be heard over the sea of applauding hands.
Albus chuckled as he raised a hand to cease the applause and began to speak once more, "I just want to say how proud to know that many of you are so loyal to stay even when... You-Know-Who, is still at large. But besides that fact, I hope you are all prepared for a vast crowd of bright smiling faces each and every morning for the next ten months!"
A loud groan of displeasure could be heard from Snape in the shadows, causing the entire staff to laugh.
"Oh ho ho ho! Glad to see that you are enthusiastic as always, Severus." Albus chuckled.
Albus saw a sneer from Severus's shadowed face. Albus merely chuckled once more.
"Yes, well, moving on," Albus cleared his throat, "I have announcement to make."
"An announcement? Well then, spit it out, Headmaster, before we all die of anticipation!" Hagrid said with a hearty laugh.
"Yes, the wait has already put Ms.Norris to sleep!" Argus Filch pointed to the sleeping feline curled in his lap.
"All right, all right, don't get your broom sticks in a bundle." Albus chuckled, "This year I have decided to add a new class to the curriculum. I call it, Muggles History and Literature. It is a more in depth than Muggle Studies, basically focusing on their history and literature. It may help our students further understand Muggles and their way of life, should our students ever decide to walk amongst them."
As Dumbledore paused the crowd of staff members began to chatter amongst themselves, when Minerva stood up from her chair.
"Albus, you don't think one of us could possibly teach the class, do you? Not many of us know that much about Muggles, not to mention that we are all quite busy with the classes we already have." Minvera asked.
"Of course not, Minerva. I wouldn't dream of piling more work on my already so busy staff." Albus chuckled as Minerva sat down with a sigh of relief, then added, "Which is why I took the liberty of hiring at new staff member. Which brings me to the second part of this announcement..." Albus smiled and gestured to his side, "Allow me to introduce, Professor Infinity, our new Muggles History and Literature professor!"
The staff looked toward the empty space where Dumbledore had gestured to. They began to murmur to each other about how Old Dumbledore might have finally lost his marbles. Professor Sinistra spoke over the murmurs to the Headmaster.
"Um, Albus, is this new professor... extremely tiny? Because... I can't see her..." Sinistra leaned over in her chair and inspected the floor with her eyes.
"Or maybe she's invisible?" Professor Sprout spoke up, looking around for some sign of the new professor.
"Maybe she's a ghost." Professor Binns suggested in his low echoing ghost-like tone.
"She's an animagus." Snape's voice bellowed above everyone else's.
The staff members turned to look at him. He pushed himself off the wall and stepped out of the shadows. With but a few long strides he soon stood beside Lupin's Chair and glowered down on him.
"Professor Lupin, would you so kindly use your 'special' senses to 'sniff out' where this new teacher may be hiding?" Snape asked with a sneer.
"Um, sure." Remus nodded and stood up.
Remus Lupin closed his eyes and used his werewolf senses and sniffed the air. Ignoring the familiar smells of his fellow professors, he could make out a small hint of rose mixed with animal hair. His eyes snapped open and searched the room.
He smiled and merely said, "Oh look, there she is." He pointed toward the ceiling rafters.
The whole staff looked up to see a white tiger gazing down on them with bright blue eyes. The tiger leaped down and landed next to Dumbledore landing on its feet. Albus merely smiled and patted the white tiger on the head as it sat beside him.
"She is quite shy, as you can see. Just like when she was young." Albus chuckled.
The White tiger let out a low growl as it began to change. The White tiger began to morph into a slender young woman, with hourglass curves, long brown hair that fell to the middle of her back and bright blue eyes. Her fur vanished into pale, creamy skin and White robes with burgundy cuffs and collar.
"I'm not THAT shy, Albus." The young woman chuckled in her soft voice with a smile gracing her lips.
"Nyaru?" Remus's eyes lit up in question.
"Remus? Is that you?" The young woman asked turning her attention to him.
Professor Lupin walked up to the young woman and gave her a hug which she gladly returned.
"I haven't seen you in ages!" Remus smiled and held the woman at arms length.
"It's been a while." She smiled.
"Ahh, Remus, I see you remember Miss Infinity from your school days." Dumbledore smiled with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Who could forget this little rascal? She was quite a trouble maker." Lupin smirked at the young woman.
"Indeed." Albus smiled, "Miss Infinity, would you care to introduce yourself?"
"As you wish, Headmaster." She nodded and turned to the crowd of teachers, "I am Professor Nyaru Infinity, Howarts' new Muggles History and Literature Professor. I am a Double Major in both Transfiguration and Defense against the Dark Arts, a Minor in Magical Creatures, and have a Masters in Muggle Studies. I am honored to make your acquaintances and I look forward to working with and, hopefully, befriending all of you."
The staff members stood up from their seats and crossed the room to greet Hogwarts' new Professor. Each one of them shaking her hand, asking her question about herself and her studies. All, except one, Professor Snape. He watched as his fellow Professors greeted the young woman whole heartedly as he just stayed behind with his arms crossed over his chest and examined her with his eyes. He kept his same emotionless expression as he watched his fellow professors chat with her happily. He could tell she was but a year, or maybe two, young than himself. She seemed awfully familiar to him, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Suddenly while she listening to Professor Vector talk about Arithmancy, he noticed Nyaru's eyes drift over to him. He tensed. He watched as her eyes lit up in recognition after studying him for a minute or two. Their eyes locked in what seemed like forever to him, as Vector continued to drone on. Suddenly to his surprise she gave him a menacing sneer, worthy of one of his own, and then continued to chat with the other professors with a sweet smile, as if it never happened. Snape raised his eyebrows in surprise. She had sneered at him? Him? Severus Snape, feared Potions Master of Hogwarts!? He let out a low growl of anger as he glared at her. He knew this new Professor would certainly get in his way.
Suddenly Dumbledore led the young woman over to Snape. Snape's expression did not waver.
"Severus, have you met Nyaru?" Dumbledore asked as he led the new Professor into his presence.
"No, I can safely say I have not." He sneered at her and held out his hand, "Professor Severus Snape, Potions Master of Hogwarts, a pleasure to meet you." His voice dripping with annoyance.
She took his hand and shook it gently with a feather like touch, smiling sweetly, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Severus. I'm sure working here will be an entertaining experience. I look forward to working with you."
"Excellent. It's good to see that you two are getting along. I'll leave you two to chat." Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes as he left to talk to Flitwick.
Once Dumbledore was out of earshot, Severus turned to Nyaru with an expressionless face, "Nyaru, was it?"
"Yes." She replied dully, looking around the Great Hall, looking like she had no interest in him at all.
"Tell me, have we met before?" Severus asked as he glowered down upon her.
"Yes." She simply replied, still paying no attention to him.
"Really?" He raised a brow in question.
"...Yes..." She sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Interesting..."
"Quite."
"Indeed."
"Truly."
"Hmm, yes..."
After that they remained silent, their arms crossed over their chests, and their eyes wandered the room, never meeting.
"Such an interesting conversation you two are having." Lupin's voice chuckled as he walked over to them.
Their attention snapped in his direction and watched as he and Professor McGonagall approached.
"It's good to see you getting along with the new professor, Severus." McGonagall smiled.
"Hmm..." was Snape's only response.
McGonagall turned to Professor Infinity, "Would you like to see your new quarters, my dear? I could help you do a bit of unpacking if you'd like." She offered.
"That would be lovely, thank you." Infinity smiled completely ignoring the presence of the Potions Master.
"Excellent. On the way we can discuss your education. I would like an update on your progress over the past few years, I haven't seen you in ages." Minerva smiled back and led the young woman out of the Great Hall.
Before Professor Infinity exited the Great Hall she gave a slight curtsy and a warm smile to Lupin and gave a threatening glare to Snape. Snape glared after her and scowled. Lupin noticed this and chuckled.
"What's that about?" Lupin asked.
"The woman is daft." Snape thought aloud, not even looking at Lupin, "She seems familiar, though."
"You don't remember her?" Lupin raised an eye brow.
"I can't say that I do." Snape hissed.
"She attended Hogwarts with us, back in the day. She was quite shy, but a trouble maker through and through, nothing compared to the Marauders, of course, but a trouble maker none the less. Cute too." Lupin smirked at Snape, "But I'm not surprised you don't remember her. You would rather have your nose in a book or play with your chemistry set than notice young girls."
Snape scowled at Lupin for that last remark.
Lupin shrugged, "Well, you were never quite the 'Ladies Man' in school."
"Remus, I will warn you once and only once. If you intend to go further into that subject, I will have no control over my future actions. Do I make myself clear?" Snape asked frigidly.
"Transparently." Lupin shook his head, trying to suppress a laugh.
"Good." Snape narrowed his eyes and cleared his throat, "I shall take my leave of you."
With that, Professor Snape strode out of the Great Hall with his head held high and his black robes billowing behind him, leaving a chuckling Professor Lupin in his shadow.
To Be Continued...
I would personally like to thank you for reading. This is my first Harry Potter fic, and I hope you liked this first chapter. I promise it will get better. Please Review!
Disclaimer: I do not, I repeat, do NOT own J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter Series" or their characters. As much as I would like to own it and make thousands of dollars, I don't. But I do own the Original Characters in this fictional story, in other words, you steal them and I sue! Mwa ha ha ha ha! Ahem, sorry. I got carried away. But as I was saying, in short: Harry Potter = Not mine = Don't sue. Thank You and enjoy.
Genre: Romance, Angst, Humor
Rating: Rated PG13 for now and will be R later on for sexual innuendo, adult situations, rape, sex, language, violence and death in later chapters.
Summery: It's Harry Potter's Seventh Year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But like every other year at Hogwarts, it's never normal. This time, He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named has hired a hit man by the name of Twilight Viper, and has sent him to kill Harry! Meanwhile, Professor Snape is not getting along with the new Muggles History and Literature teacher, who despises him for a reason beyond his knowledge, yet she claims he is responsible for one of her worst memories that has scarred her for life! Literally! Will either of them survive this year?
Chapter One: Summoned Beast
Caliginosity. The room was in utter darkness. No windows to shed light, not a lamp nor a candle. The room was in complete obscurity. The room seemed lonely and depressing from the absence of light. But in the depths of the murkiness of the room, a pair of red eyes pierced through the darkness, concentrated on their invisible surroundings in the empty pitch black room. Pupils that resembled a pair vertical paper thin slits traced the room in an unwavering glare. Suddenly there was a soft knock at the door. Suddenly, a ray of light intruded the darkness and revealed the pale skin of the owner of the pair of glowing eyes. The light revealed a figure in heavy black robes and a silver mask standing in the doorway. The shadowed figure gave a deep bow and slowly rose.
"My lord." The figure addressed the pale man in the center of the room.
"Lucius," the man with the snake-like eyes hissed, "What do I owe this interruption of my concentration?"
"Forgive me, My Dark Lord, but the assassin you requested has arrived." Lucius Malfoy told his master in a deep bow.
"Excellent, let them enter." The pale faced man told him.
Lucius bowed once more and stepped to the side. A thin muscular, broad-shouldered figure in black stepped into the light of the doorway. His face wrapped in a black cloth only showing his pale eyes full of malice and death. He wore a tight black suit that showed every muscle on his body and on the left breast was a crest of a half moon half sun. He bowed low and knelt down on one knee in respect to the Dark Lord.
"Lord Voldemort." The dark figure addressed the snake-eyed man in a low voice.
"So this is the assassin Lucius was singing praises about. Twilight Viper, was it? I hear your work is most satisfactory." Voldemort's lips curled in a wicked smile.
"Beyond satisfactory, I can assure you, my lord." The black cloaked assassin, known as 'Twilight Viper', assured him and stood at attention.
"Excellent. Do know of your objective?" Voldemort asked.
"To assassinate the one known as Harry Potter, am I correct, my lord?" Twilight Viper replied.
"Not just assassinate... Murder! Massacre! Mutilate! Sever! Kill! Destroy! I don't want him to just be dead, I want him to suffer as well! Painfully and slowly!" Voldemort raised his voice and smirked menacingly at the thought of it.
"It would be a pleasure, my lord." he bowed deeply.
"Excellent. Now, GO!" Voldemort gestured the black clad figure to leave his sight.
Twilight Viper stepped back out of the door way and gave one last bow as Lucius Malfoy shut the door.
"What did I tell you? I told you he would be more than trilled for you to take the job." Lucius smirked at the man in the black cloak.
"I thank you, Lucius." Twilight Viper bowed in gratitude, "I owe you."
Lucius grinned evilly, "You can repay me later."
"Of course, Lucius," Twilight Viper nodded, "Now if you don't mind, I shall take my leave."
With one last bow, the figure cloaked in darkness gracefully strode out of sight without another word as Lucius Malfoy stared after him with a mischievous smirk.
Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry. Dumbledore smiled up at the crest that hung above the doorway of the Great Hall, his eyes twinkled in anticipation of a new school year. He wore his best imperial violet robes for the occasion. He could hardly wait to greet his staff with open arms. His ears suddenly perked up to the sounds of echoing footsteps coming from the corridors. Dumbledore lowered his eyes and grinned as the first of his staff arrived. His eyes laid upon a rather aged, stern-looking witch, with her black hair pulled back in a bun with slight hints of grey, a black witch hat in her hands, and wore and square-rimmed spectacles upon her face. She wore robes of tartan, symbolizing her Scottish heritage.
"Minerva." Albus Dumbledore held out his arms in a greeting.
Witch gladly embraced the old wizard in a friendly hug, "Hello, Albus."
"How was your summer? It's been so long." Albus smiled as he slowly withdrew and held her at arms length.
Minerva McGonagall smiled warmly, "Same old, same old, Albus."
The two old friends chuckled heartily as another member of the staff entered the Great Hall with his robes billowing behind him with each stride. McGonagall and Dumbledore turned their attention to the young wizard, (Well, young compared to them), a thin man with sallow skin, a hooked nose, and his usual onyx robes he wore that rippled behind him. His eyes were of dark ebony, and his shoulder-length, greasy black hair shimmered in the light of the Great Hall.
"Must you be so cheery?" The younger wizard sneered, looking down on them over his crooked nose as he entered the room.
"Severus, my boy! Good to see you." Albus smiled, ignoring the remark as Minerva placed her hat upon her head.
"Albus. Minerva." Severus Snape nodded to them both.
"How are you, Severus?" Albus asked with those twinkling eyes.
"Albus, in only a few days I will be surrounded by insolent brats, chattering away as I try to teach, therefore leading to an explosion of a migraine caused by their annoying, squeaky voices. How do you think I feel?" Snape glared darkly.
"Glad to know you're looking forward to it, Severus." Minerva smirked and folded her arms.
Professor Snape merely sneered and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Albus and Minerva chuckled, same old Severus. Soon after an old wizard and a middle aged witch entered the room chatting about healing charms. The old wizard was half the Witch's size and wore vibrant blue robes, and the witch wore a nurses outfit, showing the fact that she was a Medi-Witch. Albus and Minerva greeted Poppy Pomfrey and Professor Filius Flitwick with a series of friendly embraces and hand shakes. Soon after a group of witches and wizards entered the room. Argus Filch, Rubeus Hagrid, Professor Binns, Madame Hooche, Irma Pince, Professor Lupin, Professor Sinistra, Professor Sprout, and Professor Vector, all chatting feverishly and greeted each other with smiles, hand shakes and what not. Professor Snape scowled at the sweet greetings everyone was passing around. He was surprised that they all didn't suffer from tooth decay as Lupin's salutations were sugar coated so heavily that it made Severus sick to his stomach.
Remus Lupin was quick to notice the sour look he received from Snape and smirked as he headed toward the Greasy Git. As he approached he heard Snape groan in displeasure and saw a pair of dark eyes roll under the strands of greasy hair.
"Good afternoon, Severus. How are you this fine day?" Lupin greeted as he stood before his former classmate all those years ago.
"Oh I am as fine as I can ever be. In fact, your presence has been made this day a glorious one." Severus told his fellow professor, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"That is wonderful to hear, Severus." Lupin smiled, ignoring his colleague's sarcasm.
Severus merely grunted something on the lines of 'disemboweling someone with a blunt object'. Lupin assumed it was directed towards him and merely shrugged and decided to leave the over-grown bat to himself.
"Ahh, Remus, it is good to see you back, my boy." Lupin turned to be greeted by the elderly Headmaster.
"It's good to be back, Albus." Lupin smiled.
"How have you been?" Albus asked with a flickering twinkle in his eye.
"Fairly well," Lupin grinned, "and yourself?"
"Never better." Albus chuckled, "Now, let's say we get this meeting started, eh?"
Lupin grinned and sat down in a chair amongst an entire row that had been provided for everyone. The other teachers soon followed suit and sat down. All, except Albus, who stood before everyone, and Professor Snape, who was still leaning against the wall, draped in shadow. Albus cleared his throat before speaking.
"Welcome, everyone, to another year at Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry! I can not provide words to explain how happy I am to see all the familiar faces that continue to stay here through all our greatest moments, and some of our worst. I encourage you all to give yourselves a round of applause. You've all deserved it."
"Hear, hear!" Filius Flitwick's voice could be heard over the sea of applauding hands.
Albus chuckled as he raised a hand to cease the applause and began to speak once more, "I just want to say how proud to know that many of you are so loyal to stay even when... You-Know-Who, is still at large. But besides that fact, I hope you are all prepared for a vast crowd of bright smiling faces each and every morning for the next ten months!"
A loud groan of displeasure could be heard from Snape in the shadows, causing the entire staff to laugh.
"Oh ho ho ho! Glad to see that you are enthusiastic as always, Severus." Albus chuckled.
Albus saw a sneer from Severus's shadowed face. Albus merely chuckled once more.
"Yes, well, moving on," Albus cleared his throat, "I have announcement to make."
"An announcement? Well then, spit it out, Headmaster, before we all die of anticipation!" Hagrid said with a hearty laugh.
"Yes, the wait has already put Ms.Norris to sleep!" Argus Filch pointed to the sleeping feline curled in his lap.
"All right, all right, don't get your broom sticks in a bundle." Albus chuckled, "This year I have decided to add a new class to the curriculum. I call it, Muggles History and Literature. It is a more in depth than Muggle Studies, basically focusing on their history and literature. It may help our students further understand Muggles and their way of life, should our students ever decide to walk amongst them."
As Dumbledore paused the crowd of staff members began to chatter amongst themselves, when Minerva stood up from her chair.
"Albus, you don't think one of us could possibly teach the class, do you? Not many of us know that much about Muggles, not to mention that we are all quite busy with the classes we already have." Minvera asked.
"Of course not, Minerva. I wouldn't dream of piling more work on my already so busy staff." Albus chuckled as Minerva sat down with a sigh of relief, then added, "Which is why I took the liberty of hiring at new staff member. Which brings me to the second part of this announcement..." Albus smiled and gestured to his side, "Allow me to introduce, Professor Infinity, our new Muggles History and Literature professor!"
The staff looked toward the empty space where Dumbledore had gestured to. They began to murmur to each other about how Old Dumbledore might have finally lost his marbles. Professor Sinistra spoke over the murmurs to the Headmaster.
"Um, Albus, is this new professor... extremely tiny? Because... I can't see her..." Sinistra leaned over in her chair and inspected the floor with her eyes.
"Or maybe she's invisible?" Professor Sprout spoke up, looking around for some sign of the new professor.
"Maybe she's a ghost." Professor Binns suggested in his low echoing ghost-like tone.
"She's an animagus." Snape's voice bellowed above everyone else's.
The staff members turned to look at him. He pushed himself off the wall and stepped out of the shadows. With but a few long strides he soon stood beside Lupin's Chair and glowered down on him.
"Professor Lupin, would you so kindly use your 'special' senses to 'sniff out' where this new teacher may be hiding?" Snape asked with a sneer.
"Um, sure." Remus nodded and stood up.
Remus Lupin closed his eyes and used his werewolf senses and sniffed the air. Ignoring the familiar smells of his fellow professors, he could make out a small hint of rose mixed with animal hair. His eyes snapped open and searched the room.
He smiled and merely said, "Oh look, there she is." He pointed toward the ceiling rafters.
The whole staff looked up to see a white tiger gazing down on them with bright blue eyes. The tiger leaped down and landed next to Dumbledore landing on its feet. Albus merely smiled and patted the white tiger on the head as it sat beside him.
"She is quite shy, as you can see. Just like when she was young." Albus chuckled.
The White tiger let out a low growl as it began to change. The White tiger began to morph into a slender young woman, with hourglass curves, long brown hair that fell to the middle of her back and bright blue eyes. Her fur vanished into pale, creamy skin and White robes with burgundy cuffs and collar.
"I'm not THAT shy, Albus." The young woman chuckled in her soft voice with a smile gracing her lips.
"Nyaru?" Remus's eyes lit up in question.
"Remus? Is that you?" The young woman asked turning her attention to him.
Professor Lupin walked up to the young woman and gave her a hug which she gladly returned.
"I haven't seen you in ages!" Remus smiled and held the woman at arms length.
"It's been a while." She smiled.
"Ahh, Remus, I see you remember Miss Infinity from your school days." Dumbledore smiled with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Who could forget this little rascal? She was quite a trouble maker." Lupin smirked at the young woman.
"Indeed." Albus smiled, "Miss Infinity, would you care to introduce yourself?"
"As you wish, Headmaster." She nodded and turned to the crowd of teachers, "I am Professor Nyaru Infinity, Howarts' new Muggles History and Literature Professor. I am a Double Major in both Transfiguration and Defense against the Dark Arts, a Minor in Magical Creatures, and have a Masters in Muggle Studies. I am honored to make your acquaintances and I look forward to working with and, hopefully, befriending all of you."
The staff members stood up from their seats and crossed the room to greet Hogwarts' new Professor. Each one of them shaking her hand, asking her question about herself and her studies. All, except one, Professor Snape. He watched as his fellow Professors greeted the young woman whole heartedly as he just stayed behind with his arms crossed over his chest and examined her with his eyes. He kept his same emotionless expression as he watched his fellow professors chat with her happily. He could tell she was but a year, or maybe two, young than himself. She seemed awfully familiar to him, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Suddenly while she listening to Professor Vector talk about Arithmancy, he noticed Nyaru's eyes drift over to him. He tensed. He watched as her eyes lit up in recognition after studying him for a minute or two. Their eyes locked in what seemed like forever to him, as Vector continued to drone on. Suddenly to his surprise she gave him a menacing sneer, worthy of one of his own, and then continued to chat with the other professors with a sweet smile, as if it never happened. Snape raised his eyebrows in surprise. She had sneered at him? Him? Severus Snape, feared Potions Master of Hogwarts!? He let out a low growl of anger as he glared at her. He knew this new Professor would certainly get in his way.
Suddenly Dumbledore led the young woman over to Snape. Snape's expression did not waver.
"Severus, have you met Nyaru?" Dumbledore asked as he led the new Professor into his presence.
"No, I can safely say I have not." He sneered at her and held out his hand, "Professor Severus Snape, Potions Master of Hogwarts, a pleasure to meet you." His voice dripping with annoyance.
She took his hand and shook it gently with a feather like touch, smiling sweetly, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Severus. I'm sure working here will be an entertaining experience. I look forward to working with you."
"Excellent. It's good to see that you two are getting along. I'll leave you two to chat." Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes as he left to talk to Flitwick.
Once Dumbledore was out of earshot, Severus turned to Nyaru with an expressionless face, "Nyaru, was it?"
"Yes." She replied dully, looking around the Great Hall, looking like she had no interest in him at all.
"Tell me, have we met before?" Severus asked as he glowered down upon her.
"Yes." She simply replied, still paying no attention to him.
"Really?" He raised a brow in question.
"...Yes..." She sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Interesting..."
"Quite."
"Indeed."
"Truly."
"Hmm, yes..."
After that they remained silent, their arms crossed over their chests, and their eyes wandered the room, never meeting.
"Such an interesting conversation you two are having." Lupin's voice chuckled as he walked over to them.
Their attention snapped in his direction and watched as he and Professor McGonagall approached.
"It's good to see you getting along with the new professor, Severus." McGonagall smiled.
"Hmm..." was Snape's only response.
McGonagall turned to Professor Infinity, "Would you like to see your new quarters, my dear? I could help you do a bit of unpacking if you'd like." She offered.
"That would be lovely, thank you." Infinity smiled completely ignoring the presence of the Potions Master.
"Excellent. On the way we can discuss your education. I would like an update on your progress over the past few years, I haven't seen you in ages." Minerva smiled back and led the young woman out of the Great Hall.
Before Professor Infinity exited the Great Hall she gave a slight curtsy and a warm smile to Lupin and gave a threatening glare to Snape. Snape glared after her and scowled. Lupin noticed this and chuckled.
"What's that about?" Lupin asked.
"The woman is daft." Snape thought aloud, not even looking at Lupin, "She seems familiar, though."
"You don't remember her?" Lupin raised an eye brow.
"I can't say that I do." Snape hissed.
"She attended Hogwarts with us, back in the day. She was quite shy, but a trouble maker through and through, nothing compared to the Marauders, of course, but a trouble maker none the less. Cute too." Lupin smirked at Snape, "But I'm not surprised you don't remember her. You would rather have your nose in a book or play with your chemistry set than notice young girls."
Snape scowled at Lupin for that last remark.
Lupin shrugged, "Well, you were never quite the 'Ladies Man' in school."
"Remus, I will warn you once and only once. If you intend to go further into that subject, I will have no control over my future actions. Do I make myself clear?" Snape asked frigidly.
"Transparently." Lupin shook his head, trying to suppress a laugh.
"Good." Snape narrowed his eyes and cleared his throat, "I shall take my leave of you."
With that, Professor Snape strode out of the Great Hall with his head held high and his black robes billowing behind him, leaving a chuckling Professor Lupin in his shadow.
To Be Continued...
I would personally like to thank you for reading. This is my first Harry Potter fic, and I hope you liked this first chapter. I promise it will get better. Please Review!