Welcome to all those stumbling onto this story for the first time, or looking into it because one of the other JC novels look interesting, or if you're back for another read. This is the first book of the first series of Jennifer Craw books. It starts out with mostly canon characters but over the course of the series becomes more and more about original characters.

This first novel is very short, basically to set up the main character and her relationships. Fair warning, however, as the novels progress the plots get more complex...but I always attempt to make the main focus of my novels about character development, so that is why sometimes it's mystery, sometimes romance, sometimes adventure...whatever works to progress the story.

This first novel in the first series of Jennifer Craw stories (The Voldemort Years) begins with an alternate book 5 with an alternate DA. It is a slightly dark, lite romance novel mostly from professor point of view, with some of the kids mixed in for balance. It's a pretty quick read, especially now that I've ironed out some of the edges. It begins just as the summer is ending after the Tri-Wizard tournament and Cedric's death, so I always recommended a rereading of Canon book four beforehand.

Books 1-7 were all written in 2002-03 during that hiatus during JK's 4 and her 5; so don't be surprised if family backgrounds are vastly different. (And actually those differences are important to stories later in the series, as you'll find out.) As of this update in 2008, I have recently picked the series up again and am currently working on Series 4 (The Heritage Series.) which will be a very long-running series.

Latest Edit notes: December 2015: Minor grammar fixes.

I hope you come to enjoy it as much as my other readers have, and as I have writing it. It's amazing to me to find I'm still picking up new readers now and again. Thanks to everyone who helped make the series possible, as well as all the reviews! JC Writer


Jennifer Craw and the Phoenix Wand

Chapter One

The New Professor

Jennifer Craw checked over her bags one last time. Her books and magic equipment were all packed safely in her trunk with her bag of tricks, and all of her robes, personal effects and weekend wardrobe were neatly and snugly folded in her Unremarkable brand suitcase.

It had scarcely been a month since she had received a post about her new position as a Hogwarts professor. It came as a pleasant surprise to someone who had in her first job at Beauxbatons endured countless, grueling interviews just to acquire a junior instructor position. Rumors of the empty seat after last year's escapades at the end of the Triwizard tournament had prompted her to write a letter of inquiry about the job asking for more specifics, but it was not long after, very speedily in fact, that she received a letter in return:

~Miss Jennifer Corsiva Craw,

Thank you for your inquiry. You have been accepted as our new Professor in the instruction of the Defence of the Dark Arts for this upcoming year's term. All staff should attempt to report two weeks ahead of the semester to prepare their syllabi and requisition class materials.

If you can, please arrive a day or two early so that I might acquaint you with some members of our staff, as well as inform you about some special circumstances surrounding your new position.

~Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts.

She reviewed it again as she stood in the full moonlight, waiting upon the rooftop of her summer cottage just outside of Paris.

The coach was late but that was fairly typical even for a private coach. In fact, it was almost bad luck for one to arrive on time, and although normally Jennifer ignored such trivial superstitions, a little extra luck on a new venture never hurt.

She took a moment to unfold a pocket mirror. Normally it wasn't her looks she was interested in when she gazed in a mirror, only her thoughts; but this was a special occasion. The stark black robes really did nothing for her, making her face seem unusually pale and her auburn hair, conservatively pulled back, even more reddish. She shook her head with her lips pursed, staring at her green eyes in the reflection and wondering if she should age herself a bit so that she looked less like an older student and more like the professor type. But after considering it seriously, she decided against it. Such a spell wasn't easily reversible; and anyhow, if there had been any question of her experience and teaching ability, she was sure she would have been grilled in interviews like she had been before. Folding her mirror and putting it in her pocket, she glanced up once again at the sky.

At last a curious cloud appeared, moving at a strangely rapid pace across the moonlit horizon. Driven by two black winged horses, a stagecoach alighted on the rooftop in front of her; barely making a sound as it suddenly skidded to a stop. A very large man huffed and puffed as he squeezed through the door of the coach, brushing himself off as he nodded to her.

"'Alo there! You must be Professor Craw! I'll just be gett'in yer bags."

"You must be Hagrid, the school groundskeeper and Magical Creatures Instructor?" Jennifer asked with a smile.

"So ya've heard of me then?" he replied brightly, opening the coach door for her.

"Yes, I believe I've seen you with Madame Maxime when you came to visit the school just after term ended."

"Oh, ya noticed me," mumbled Hagrid with a nod, a bit flustered as he held the door for her. "Well, I guess we shoul' be goin'. Dumbledore was hopin' ta get you in early enuf so's he could talk to ya."

Like most things of magic, the coach was a lot bigger inside than out with room for Hagrid and herself with plenty to spare. The moment they were in and the door was shut, the goblin driver on top snapped his whip. The carriage took off with a jolt, tossing Jennifer back against her seat.

"Sorra about tha', guess I shoulda' mentioned tha' mi' happen…" Hagrid said, "Pegasi ain't much up on stoppin' on command an' all. Too bad it's evenin'. I bet we coul' get a lovely view of the countryside from 'ere."

Jennifer chuckled softly to herself, thinking of all the "U.F.O." reports hatched from a daytime jaunt.

"Lovely beasts, aren't they? Did you raise them yourself?" she asked politely. Hagrid beamed with pride.

"Aye, sure did! Wull, me an' my sixth years, anyways. Dumbledore wouldn' let me teach the students how to ride 'em, tho," he added with a blank, almost disappointed look. "Dunno why."

Jennifer nodded, privately agreeing with the Headmaster. The last thing she'd want to see on such an unpredictable creature would be an even more unpredictable student.

Hagrid chatted away during the journey, mostly about his pets but some about the layout of the school, making Jennifer impatient to get there. It also was a nice distraction from going over the channel, hearing about the halls and turrets… but mostly about the creatures that she might encounter from the nearby forest.

Finally the coach began to wind its way down, and Jennifer pulled back the curtains around the window to see the castle complex that housed the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was without question much bigger than the Beauxbatons, and she found herself staring at it, awestruck.

"Breftakin' ain' it? We'll be landin' soon. Not much goin' on at the moment, of course. Not much of the staff is back yet except our full year residents. But wait 'til you see it when everyone is 'ere and it's crawlin' with students, it's even more amazin'" Hagrid said, pointing out the different wings and the Quidditch Pitch.

It was there on the field that the coach finally landed. Hagrid and Jennifer slowly stepped out and stretched a bit. The breeze in the air was very damp and chilly, so she pulled her cloak around her as she watched the goblin fuss with the ties on the top of the coach.

"'Ere now, I'll take those," Hagrid told the goblin, throwing the large trunk over his shoulder and grabbing her suitcase in the other hand. "Let's get you out of this night air, Professor. I expect you're not quite used to the cold so early in the year." Jennifer quickly fell into step behind him as they entered, pausing when Hagrid stopped to fish around his pockets. "I got the room an' floor written down here somm'eres," he assured her.

"Hagrid? Professor Craw?"

Jennifer glanced up to the sound of a woman's voice to behold an older witch dressed in fine green professor's robes. Her hair was redder than Jennifer's but greying, and she wore spectacles on her nose. In a way she reminded Jennifer of every witch teacher she ever had when she went to school.

"Ah, 'alo there, Professor McGonagall. Professor Craw, this is Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmaster and Transfiguration Professor."

"Minerva McGonagall," she smiled, offering her hand.

"Jennifer Craw," Jennifer smiled back and took her hand, immediately deciding she liked her from the thoughts that she read in the other woman's face.

"I thought I might come and help you get settled. As Hagrid probably mentioned, the staircases here tend to have a mind of their own." Minerva warned, turning to lead the way.

"I should'a mentioned that," Hagrid mumbled, following behind the two witches.

"Your office is located by your classroom at the far end of the second floor, but your personal rooms will be on the fifth. We'll head there first."

Jennifer was actually more anxious to see her office but dutifully followed Minerva up to her rooms, pausing now and again to gaze at the pictures in the stairwell.

"Quite an impressive collection," Jennifer remarked as they waited for a staircase to settle into place.

"Yes it is, although I admit they were a bit nerve wracking when I first came here as a student all those many years ago," Minerva admitted with a chuckle.

"It must have been something. I would have loved to have been able to accept my invitation to be a student here, but my mother wanted to keep me closer to home." Jennifer explained. They climbed up the last stair to the fifth floor and Minerva led her down the hall. Minerva glanced back and nodded to her distractedly.

"Yes, your mother was Alice Corsiva, wasn't she?" Minerva commented. "Quite an honor student here. These are your rooms," she added, stopping at a painting of a large black bird. "This is Dewhurst, and the password at the moment is 'orange marmalade.'" The raven in the picture flapped and the door began to creep open. "You may change it at your convenience, of course."

The suite consisted of a bedroom, bathroom, and a sitting room that was laden with ornate rugs and tapestries. One wall was left bare, more than likely so that Jennifer could fill it with her own pictures and trinkets. Jennifer quickly spotted the window and strode over to open it, putting her hand out expectantly.

"Hmm, perhaps he hasn't arrived yet," Jennifer frowned after a moment. "I sent him this way a couple days ago. I'd have thought he'd have made it here by now."

"You have an owl? Perhaps he's roosting up in the Owlery."

"Well, no, he's not an…" Just then there was a flutter at the window and something landed on her head, squeaking in annoyance.

"Settle down, Ratfly, you silly bat." The large fruit bat perched itself upside down on the owl stand by the window, surveying the room with bored interest. "He's rather uppity sometimes, and he's quite a character. I like characters." Jennifer explained with a chuckle, taking the suitcase from Hagrid and setting it on the table.

"Then you should feel right at home here, because if there's one thing Hogwarts is definitely full of it's characters," Minerva said with a lopsided smile. Jennifer laughed at that.

"May we go see my office now?" Jennifer asked.

"I had a feeling you would want to see it tonight. Let's run on down, then."

"Could you bring the trunk please, Hagrid? If it's not too much trouble," Jennifer added.

"None for me, Professor," Hagrid assured her cheerfully, behaving as if he were rather enjoying himself.

As they descended the stairs, Jennifer suddenly got the feeling as if the castle itself was watching them. Hagrid had said something about ghosts, she remembered, and wondered if that was the eeriness she was sensing.

"Here we are," Minerva announced, opening the door.

Jennifer walked straight in. It was mostly empty except for the rudimentary shelves, tables, walls and a desk with only an ornate carpet for décor.

"Well! It looks like I have my work cut out for me in here," she declared, sounding pleased. "Can you put the trunk down on the floor, Hagrid? You've been so wonderful!"

"No trouble, Professor," Hagrid assured her. "You'll have to come out an' visit, an' see some of them pets I was tellin' you abou'."

"You've been a wonderful companion, and I'm sure I'll be speaking with you about them. I have a couple of ideas in mind in my class that might need a creature or two."

"O' course! Wull now, I best be gett'in the Pegasi fed, Professors."

Minerva waved and waited for him leave before turning back to Jennifer.

"So! Do you suppose you're up to a meeting with the Headmaster tonight? You still have a while before term starts to set up, so you needn't worry about the office quite yet."

"It's more than a one night job in any case," Jennifer admitted with a grin, thinking of all the delicate equipment she brought that had to be set up by hand. Besides, her curiosity had been growing ever since she had gotten her acceptance letter. Who was this legendary wizard who would hire her to his staff without batting an eye? "I am quite ready for a meeting now, thank you." Minerva quickly led her up to Dumbledore's private study, taking a moment to introduce them before slipping off to retire.

"Welcome," smiled the Headmaster, offering Jennifer a seat. "As I'm sure you've guessed, I'm Albus Dumbledore. I am happy to have you on my staff, Jennifer."

"Thank you, sir," she stammered slightly, then caught herself. Perhaps he was not so awesome in appearance… an elderly wizard with long silver hair and beard, golden robes and twinkling, sincere blue eyes… but at that moment she was struck with the fact that she was facing one of the most powerful wizards in the world. She forced herself to recover her thoughts, leaning back in the chair in an attempt to look calm. "I am very honored to be here. A bit surprised, perhaps, but honored."

"Wondering why you were chosen, are you?" Dumbledore smiled mischievously. "I suppose then it would also surprise you to know that I have been watching your performance for quite some time. I had a feeling once you started expressing interest in academia that you would go far. Your mother was quite a student when she was here at Hogwarts, you know. She graduated at the top of her class. We half expected that she would have become a teacher."

Jennifer nodded slightly. So that was it? She had long known that her mother and father had attended Hogwarts and then lived some time in England before fleeing to America fifteen years ago. Apparently, it had not been far enough. Four years earlier, her father had been found dead, and her mother vanished from her home in France a year ago and hadn't been heard from since.

"Your mother had an innate ability; one rather rare that I had always admired," he continued, interrupting her thoughts. "She could see people for who they really are. No magic charm, enchantment or pretense was enough to keep her from seeing the truth. I understand that you also share the same talent, and even averted a few mishaps and scandals at Beauxbatons with it," he smiled.

Jennifer shifted slightly. Considering most of those incidents involved sealed records, she suddenly realized that he must have had a long talk with Maxime before asking her to be on staff. Perhaps he wasn't quite so impulsive as she had thought.

"Then you would also know that I mainly instructed item enchantments and potion creation theory and not a subject in the higher arts," Jennifer said cautiously.

Dumbledore looked amused.

"Oh yes, I heard all about Maxime's skepticism about your magical talents. But as I'm sure you have guessed by now, it's a skepticism I do not share. I am also hoping that along with teaching the typical magical defences that you might be able to help our students start to see the finer points of using their other perceptions; to teach them how to see through all the camouflaged darkness in the world and find the truth," he sighed softly, nodding as if to himself.

"Yes the truth," he continued, looking straight into her eyes. "This may not be the easiest of times for our school, our community, or our world," he said softly. "Let me start by telling you about one of our fifth year students that will be attending this year. His name is Harry Potter."

"Ah, yes. I heard about what happened last year," Jennifer nodded soberly.

She had been rather preoccupied when much of the school went to Hogwarts for the Tri-wizard Tournament, a game that showcased some of the best students in the three largest academies. But her mother had disappeared just before that, and Jennifer had opted to stay close to home, hoping beyond hope that somehow her mother would return.

The reports that came back with Madame Maxime had chilled her to the bone…Voldemort had returned. It was at that point that she began to wonder if he somehow had to do with her mother's disappearance; her mother and father had been no friends of Voldemort. She couldn't imagine what it must have been like for Harry to have to witness such things first hand.

"I would like you to keep a special eye on him, as well as his two friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Part of your duties on staff will include special security measures that I have put in place this year. Yours will involve accompanying guests of the school while they are here, and also to help watch over special events. I can't say that I've totally made up my mind on whether or not we will continue with some of our activities, such as Quidditch, but if we do it'll be especially important for you to be on your guard. We've had several unfortunate occurrences involving Harry, and I'd rather they not continue," Dumbledore explained quietly. Jennifer nodded.

"We also have as a compliment to the normal staff some, shall we say, 'friends' of the school, for lack of a better term," he continued. "They help protect the school, its position, and its inhabitants… I'm sure there will be occasion for you to meet them and I'll make them known to you as needed. I trust that these added responsibilities won't interfere with your teaching. From what I've heard, you also have a special knack at keeping your wits about you, and we definitely need that in a Defence teacher. I should warn you, some of the students are beginning to think the position is cursed," he added with a wink. "We haven't had a professor stay longer than a year in a while. I would very much like to see us break the cycle on that. Welcome to Hogwarts, Jennifer. I look forward to having someone of your caliber on board."