New Beginnings.

A/N: This is my sequel to Vampiress; Twilight Riddle. Is Twilight really dead? Who found her? How did everyone react? What are Snape, and Harry's true feelings? Draco's? What did Voldemort do? All revealed...in "New Beginnings; Dusk Simmermin."

Chapter one.

Professor Severus Snape stood out side of his bedroom in his office, watching the while flakes of snow, drop down agenst the ground, and the rooftops of Hogwart's many towers, along with the Game Keeper's small hut.

As he shifted his gaze downward, he saw a small group of Gryffindor sixth years, notably Harry Potter, and his crowd, this year joined by the new exchange student Dusk Simmermin, who was older then the rest of them, at least eighteen, Snape figured mentally, even if she was only a sixth year.

Snape turned from the window just as she turned to look up at him, feeling his steady gaze through the glass, catching a glimpse of him as he retreated to his desk.

_____

"Professor Snape was watching us a moment ago." Dusk was still watching the window from which she had just seen the older man.

"I'm sure he was Dusk." Hermione shrugged, "He really has nothing better to do then brood I suppose."

"What would he be doing in that little tower? His room is off his office in the dungeons I thought." Harry butted his way into the conversation.

"No. His office is in the dungeons, then there are stairs that lead to a second office, and his bedroom." Dusk shook her head.

"How do you know that?" Ron asked, pausing from watching snowflakes on his tounge.

"He had me stay after class that one day to discuss one of my papers" Dusk shrugged, "He says it's a shame I'm in Gryffindor, because I have the artistic flavor, and intelignce of a Slytherin."

"Yes, we know." Harry smiled at her, "But we won't hold that agenst you."

_____

Snape tapped his wand agenst the edge of his desk, not half suprized when it turned into a pig, giving a high squeal, and darting out of the room.

Sighing, he cast a makeshift levitation spell for his supplies that had been on his pig- err desk, and got up to search for the pig.

"Such a hazard should be warned agenst." He hissed, seeing the pig darting along the corner.

The castle was silent as he prowled after the pig, which was his desk. He didn't actually care when anyone else thought of him 'stalking' the pig. They already thought him odd.

He heard a slight crash, and a stifled scream, and he sighed some more, increasing his pace around the corner, where he paused for a moment, pressing his fingers to his lips. Dusk, and Hermione where sprawled on the floor, parts of the suit of armor in that corridor sprawled across the floor, and themselves, Ron, and Harry attempting to catch the pig, who was running around Hermione, and Dusk's little mess, oinking away.

"Excuse me..." He stepped over Dusk, who was working on moving parts of the armor off her legs, so she could stand.  He bent down and picked up the pig with amazing ease, for it was an awfully big pig. "Excuse me boys..." He stepped back over them all, "Bad Pig...err desk...or whatever you are...." The animal in his arms licked his face, and he scrunched his face giving it a hard, disgusted look, "I believe I liked you better as a desk..."

"Um...Professor?" Harry spoke, confused, "The mess?"

"Oh?" Snape turned and glanced across the hall, "Yes...of course...don't worry about it. Was completely my fault. Wasn't watching my wand properly I guess..." He gave the pig in his arms a harder; more disgusted look as it licked his cheek again.

Dusk asked, standing, brushing dirt, and dust from her robes; along with a little bit of snow still clinging to her cloak, "Do you need any help Professor?"

"Ah...No. That's not necessary. Well, I'll be off." He started off in the direction of his office, murmuring threats in the pig's ear as he walked.

He heard the quiet steps behind him as he ducked into his office, quickly changing the pig back to his desk, and lowering his things onto his desk.

"Excuse me? Professor Snape?" He knew who it was even before he looked at her. He always got this feeling of butterflies in his stomach when Dusk was near by.... sort of what had happened when- He cut himself short.

"Umm...Yes Miss." He fought to remember her name, "Miss Simmermin?" He was lucky he remembered his own name, much less hers.

She gave him a slight smile, "I was wondering if you had corrected those potion essays, because I don't remember turning mine in."

Snape raised an eyebrow, prepared to launch a witty, nasty, rude comment, but it caught in his throat, and instead found himself picking up his grading tablet, and opening it to   Gryffindor 5th years, "Hold on a moment. I'll check."

He ran one bony, slim, pale while finger down the slots, and found hers' empty, "Yes. It was turned in." He just didn't want to see her worry. He'd give her passing marks. After all, she was his favorite student at the moment...even if she was a wrongly placed Gryffindor.

"Are you positive?" She asked, "I was pretty sure..."

Snape pretended to go over the list again, "Well unless I mixed yours and Potter's..." He shrugged, lying again.

"That must be it. Because I know Harry turned his in." Dusk shrugged, "Can I turned it in, if I go get it?"

"We have no late policy...I would suppose so." He snapped his grade book shut, and looked up at her.

Her hair was surprisingly red, but not a flame like the Weasley Family's, more dull, and colorless, but a red all the same. It reached down past her shoulders, where she wore it tied back. Her eyes where a deep blue, almost blackish-purple. She was tall, probably only a few inches shorter then him self.

"Thank you Professor. "With a slight skip in her step, she turned and went out of the office, pulling the door shut behind her.

Snape tossed his grading book the desk, glancing up at the clock on the wall. It was almost dinnertime, but he wasn't hungry. Even though it was Saturday evening, he felt a strange urge to work on the next week's schedule plans.

Sitting back at his desk, his planner open in front of him, he noted that the Hogsmead trip was in three days, and Christmas holidays started in two weeks. He snapped the planner back shut, and leaned back in his chair.

That meant almost a month without students buzzing around, bothering him about this and that...except for perhaps, that small Christmas party he always insisted on having, but it wasn't as if he was being forced on attending. He smiled, with a slight bit of amusement on his face, as Dusk again emerged from the hallway, a few papers in her hand.

"Just set them on the desk." Snape motioned to where he meant, and she took a few steps in, setting the papers on the desk, before speaking.

"Not to sound rude, or nosey Professor, but you seem troubled by something." Dusk folded her hands in front of her.

Snape gave her a slight smile, "No. Nothing."

"Are you sure? Because-"

"It's nothing, Miss Simmermin, a bit of brandy, and good company won't cure." In fact, it's the cure I've been using for the last 6 months. He didn't add the last part aloud.

"Oh. Are you an alcoholic?" She asked, straight forward. Something Snape liked about her.

Snape cackled, throwing his head back, sliding down lower into his chair, "Heaven's no. God I haven't laughed since Twi-" he cut himself short, and shook his head, straightening,"No Dusk. I am not an alcoholic."

"Oh." She gave a sigh of relief, "Whose Twi?"

"You mean who was Twi. Well, it doesn't matter now Miss Simmermin, does it?" He wasn't asking, he was stating it, "It's in the past, and it doesn't matter. Please get out of my office."

"Evidently it does matter." Dusk's face was serious, as she spoke, "If don't mean to pry but maybe if you talk about it-"

"Forget about it. Get of my office." His voice was harsher this time.

"But Professor I-"

"Get out Miss Simmermin, or ten points from Gryffindor."

"Professor, I'm only trying to-"

"Twenty and rising Miss Simmermin."

_____

"I was only trying to help." Dusk winced as Hermione pressed ice agenst her cheek.

"Well, I've never known Professor Snape to be a violent man. Sarcastic, and rude maybe, but never violent. I suppose after Twilight, anything's possible."

"Herm, I don't think anyone needs to be reminded of her. " Ron spoke up from his chair next to her.

"But Snape mentioned her too. Who was she?" Dusk asked, watching Hermione, and Ron's faces.

Hermione glanced at Ron, who glanced at Harry, who was hard at work in one of the corners on some homework, and then back at Hermione, "Maybe you should ask Harry. He knew her better then us. Then again, if you really want answers, I'd go to Snape."

Dusk sighed, "Just tell me who she was. Please?"

"I'll tell her." Ron sighed, sitting forward in his chair, "Twilight Riddle was a girl every guy couldn't help but like."

"Including you." Hermione teased.

"Shut up." Ron glinted his eyes playfully at her; "Anyway, she transferred here from Durmstrang near this time. She and Snape started a..sexual based relationship, at least from what I gather-"

"Ron!"

"I'm telling what I know Herm! Anyway when she and Snape broke it off, Viktor Krum started following her around. After awhile, she and Malfoy had this fling, and Harry fell in love with her...then the night she went back to Snape...she got killed."

"Well he left out some parts, but thats a basic outline..." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"She was killed?" Dusk repeated.

Ron nodded, "'Afraid so."

"Oh my gosh...poor Professor Snape! And Malfoy!"

Ron shook his head, "No. Malfoy only liked her for her body. He didn't; love her the way Harry and Snape did."

"What are you three talking about?" Harry was suddenly standing next to Dusk.

"N-nothing Harry," Hermione shook her head.

"Am I supposed to believe that?"

"D-don't worry about it.

Harry tilted his head to the side "You were talking about her again weren't you?"

"N-no Harry. We know how that upsets you." Ron shook his head.

"Exactly why you would hide it."

Ron shook his head, "We're not hiding anything Harry...Dusk asked."

Harry glanced down at Dusk, who promptly looked away, and pressed the ice agenst her cheek harder. Leaning down, he pressed his face just inches from hers, his breath falling agenst her lips and neck, "Don't worry about someone whose been dead for over six months. Twilight Riddle-" He spat the word like it was poison, "is gone, and isn't coming back."

Snape's at one time 'good mood' had been disrupted as soon as he'd felt his hand connect with Dusk's cheek, causing not only for his mood to break in it's entirety, but for her to stare at him blankly before darting from the room quickly. He didn't have the heart to take any more points (which had then reached up to eighty) from Gryffindor, even though he would have loved to see it reach a hundred.

He had now sunk down into the chair behind his desk, thinking about going to ask Dumbledore for a drink, but then stopped himself. Alcohol was not the way to solve his problems. He watched across the glossy surface, and sighed. So he'd get drunk alone, between his two offices, and bedrooms.

Severus Snape did not act to alcohol the way normal people did. Most people got this strange sense of insanity. Laughing crazily at things that weren't funny. While others went unusually crazy, the opposite way. Beating people, and breaking things. Severus Snape was different. He went unusually calm. So calm you couldn't tell if he was dead or what. He didn't speak when he was drunk. He didn't breath to awfully much either which kind of scared people when he'd gotten into the habit of getting drunk in muggle bars. Another thing he no longer did. Get drunk in muggle bars that is.

Turning back to the present time, Snape was sitting at the desk in his lower office, starting at the door of his old bedroom. He'd asked for permission to move his sleeping chamber to the room he used as his second office. Not the two shared the upper level office tower. His old bedroom was now empty, collecting dust. Most of Twilight's things held behind the locked door. Everything that Voldemort hadn't demanded along with the body was there.

Twilight's sister was currently in St. Mungo's, her dutiful boyfriend by her side most of the time.

Sipping his brandy, he craved something stronger, but all the houselves in the kitchens had was wine, and more brandy. He secretly longed for one of those muggle bars, even though he'd sworn them off.

 Sighing, he placed his now empty glass on the edge of his desk, and climbed the stairs to bed.