Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the invention of Ms. J.K. Rowling. I don't own the characters in any way, shape, or form. I do, however, claim Armina Wilkins, her family, random students, and the plot.

A/N: So this is the first tweaked chapter in my quest to make my fic HBP compliant. If I hadn't changed the ending I wouldn't have had to fix everything. Thank you everyone who has continued to read this fic, I'm sorry for the insanely lengthy lull in posts. School is beginning to get in the way. To my new readers, thank you for taking the time to read my story. On final note before getting to the story itself, this fic occurs during the sixth book (hence the revision - it was started before it was release for those who don't know).So, without further ado, here is the revised first chapter. Enjoy!


Dismal Photographs of Yesterday

Chapter 1: Unfortunate Introductions


Dark thunderheads swirled overhead as Professor Snape entered the Great Hall for dinner. The cracks of lightning were drowned out by the sea of students that filled the room, chattering loudly about meaningless things and feasting on the vast amounts of food before them. Snape sneered as he took his seat beside Professor Flitwick, though he was in no mood for polite conversation.

"Good Evening, Severus," Flitwick chirped, his voice seeming to be annoyingly cheery on this particular evening.

"Flitwick," he mumbled, examining his food.

"You just missed the sorting. It seems like we have another promising group of students this year."

"So it would seem."

He seemed to have gotten the point across; Flitwick sighed and now turned to start up a conversation with McGonagall. Snape ate in silence, pondering the dreadful beginning of term the following day.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the commotion unfolding between the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables. A Ravenclaw girl with dull, sandy blonde braids had lost her balance and fallen into the Slytherins behind her as she had attempted to get up. She had lost her elliptical framed spectacles in the tumble, which the Slytherins were now tossing around the table in a childish game of Keep Away.

"Please, give me my glasses back," the girl pleaded as she moved back and forth in the direction of her glasses, only causing their laughter to grow louder. Snape had to admit that the spectacle was mildly amusing, but at the same time, his anger was growing. Memories of his own childhood flashed before his eyes, as his gaze subconsciously flicked to the Gryffindor table.

Snape stood up, dangerously eyeing the Slytherin table. "Mr. Zanth!" he boomed, the amount of authority in his voice causing everyone to freeze. A 7th year Slytherin with neat brown hair now held the wire frames that were the source of amusement. He now looked as if he was going to be ill, his now pallid countenance frozen in a look of horror. "Return the girl's spectacles!"

Without a second thought, the boy tossed the glasses at the small girl. The Ravenclaw placed them on the bridge of her nose and ran from the Hall. Everyone was now staring at Professor Snape, too frightened to move.

"Return to your meals," he growled, sitting back down in his chair. The hall erupted in the clanging of utensils against plates and the thuds of goblets against the tables. Whispering between the students formed a dull roar that seemed to echo off the walls and intensify.


Armina Wilkins sprinted from the Great Hall toward the library, tears flowing from her aqua blue eyes. It was yet another humiliation to add to her repertoire. She had been picked on since her first year for one reason or another. This instance was no different; it was the same bullies with the same antics.

"Good Evening, Miss Wilkins," Madame Pince greeted in her usual gruff tone as Armina ran passed her.

Armina ducked between several sets of bookshelves before collapsing onto the floor, leaning her back a shelf of books. It was time to drown her sorrows in knowledge, as she always did.

After wiping the tears from her eyes, she reached out her small hand and pulled a random book from its place before her. She flipped through the frail pages, soaking in the information like a sponge.

"It's so nice to be back," she sighed, grabbing yet another book. This library is so much bigger than the muggle one at home."

Madame Pince appeared at the end of the row, glaring at Armina. She glanced down at her watch than back at Armina before disappearing into another row. Armina knew it was getting late. She did have classes in the morning after all.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts," she muttered to herself. "Another wonderful year of teasing and unhappiness."

With that, she replaced the books she had been reading and made her way back to the Ravenclaw Common Room.


Snape prowled into his new classroom, a migraine pounding over his left eye, causing the left above it to visibly throb. The students before him looked slightly shocked that he had entered the room, half expecting that Dumbledore's announcement from the previous night had merely been a dream or perhaps even a ruse. However, to their disappointment, they were greatly mistaken.

He stood erectly before the group, his menacing eyes scanning the worthless and ignorant assembly. His nostrils flared in disgust and his eyebrow twitched in sync with the vein throbbing above it.

"The Dark Arts are more than magic; they are as their title implies: an art. The Dark Arts are a sacred art form that few ever master, though many try. They are a powerful form of magic that can do as little as give you a mild tooth ache to death itself. If you wish to ward off said magic, you will pay attention to everything that is said in this room and never contradict anything I say." He paused, taking slight pleasure in the looks of horror that adorned some of the faces before him. "Now, take out your text books and turn to page ten. Read the entire chapter and begin your first assignment: two scrolls of parchment on the most common spells of dark wizards. I trust that you all know how to cast non-verbal spells. I would not wish to treat seventh years as the preceding year."

He paused, checking to see if he had everyone's full attention. His black, beetle-like eyes scanned the sea of faces before him. Only one was peering down at the desk before it. A mass of blonde braided hair seemed to spill onto the desk to which her nose nearly touched. Her quill scratched across the parchment in front of her at what seemed like record speed. Snape advanced on the girl, lips pursing into a thin line across his face.

Snape cleared his throat loudly, startling the poor girl and causing to jump a few inches off her chair. She looked up at him, frightened eyes twitching back and forth while taking in her surroundings. A great black smudge skewed the freckles that covering the bridge of her nose. A set of elliptical wire frames sat askew on the end of her nose. Using her thin index finger, she pushed the spectacles back up onto the bridge of her small, pointed nose, a pair of surreal aqua blue eyes peering back at him from behind them. It was the Ravenclaw he had defended the previous night.

"I suppose that your tumble last night affected your hearing. May I ask why you were writing in my class when you were not asked to begin?"

"I-I'm s-s-sorry, sir," she stuttered, her voice high pitched and fearful.

Snape's eyes narrowed. "It would be wise to pay attention as opposed to scribbling notes to your peers in this class, Miss---"

"Armina Wilkins, sir," she replied, her voice suddenly small and submissive.

Snape sneered and turned his back to her, striding back to the front of the classroom. "5 points from Ravenclaw for Wilkins' bad judgment and Detention. Perhaps that will teach you to listen."


A tone sounded, but was muffled by the hurried gather of books and rustling of notes. Snape sat behind his desk in disgust as his students walked past him. He eyed the only remaining student, Wilkins, suspiciously as she rose from her place at the back of the classroom. She picked up her bag, but, by the look of it, lost her balance due to its weight.

It was like watching a car crash, everything seemed to move in slow motion. She staggered backward slightly and fell into a bookcase full of fragile jars containing disgusting, floating things. Her terror stricken eyes glanced up in time to see several jars rain down on her head. They shattered upon the cold stone floor, covering her in foul smelling liquids. She stood there in the lake of rotting creatures, too stunned to move.

"Wilkins," Snape hissed angrily, a vein above his eye beginning to throb visibly in his forehead.

"I-I'm sorry, sir! It was an accident!" she pleaded, eyes finally turning to gaze at her furious instructor.

"Plan on cleaning this mess up for your detention this evening," he spat, assessing the damage she had inflicted.

"Yes, sir."

"Get out of my sight!"

Armina gathered her soaked bag into her arms and sprinted from the room. Snape stared after her before turning once again to her wake. Offensive scents reached his nostrils, further fueling his hostility toward the stupid girl. He promised himself to make her pay for this error.


A/N: So, chapter one is completed. Don't forget to review. They make me happy and fuel my drive to crank out chapters. Reminder that I am still in school, so frequent updates are most likely non-existent until June. Please be patient. So yeah, go review! On to chapter 2...