Disclaimer: I own nothing about this story except my characters, Cassandra Snape, and numerous other new students and faculty members. All canon characters belong to JKR!

Also...please note that as of 2/18/07, the genre has changed, as well as I added the disclaimer, which I apparently forgot to do in my haste! Thank you, and enjoy the prologue.

Professor M. Skylarke

Prologue:

Phoebus Stellian the Delivery Guy

Harry looked out the window and sighed. Nothing was going on, now that his Fifth Year was over and done with. Only three more weeks of the Dursleys and then he would be off to Hogwarts for another year. But, like always, being Muggles, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were completely against it. "Dear Ron," Harry started on another letter. "Nothing interesting is going on here. I've been stuck here all summer, and since Sirius is dead and they know it, it's gotten a lot worse. I can't wait for school to start again, how about you?" Suddenly, Harry heard a knock downstairs. He creaked his door open a bit to see who it was...or at least hear the voice.

He heard Uncle Vernon snap at whoever it was, "What do you want?"

The person---Harry couldn't recognize the visitor at the door---said flatly, "Is this the residence of Harry Potter?" The voice was a little low and passive. This person sounded tired, bored, and exasperated all at the same time. The voice was not a familiar one.

Aunt Petunia scurried down there and laughed. "Oh, who? I think you have the wrong address, dear."

"Look," said the person. "You can make this easy or difficult, and I know I got the right address. I'm not stupid, so don't go off thinking you can fool me. Now, is Harry Potter home or not?" The voice sounded a little agitated with the Dursleys. "You are making me impatient." The hooded figure was tapping his bony fingers in frustration.

Uncle Vernon snapped at the tired visitor. "He's home all right, but just who do you think you are showing up on my property at this hour!"

The figure pulled down the hood he was wearing and laughed at Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. "Go get him already...unless you want to see something bad happen." Harry took one look at this person and was completely baffled...he'd never seen this fellow before in his life.

The visitor was a wizard, there was no way he couldn't be; he was carrying a mahogany wand with a brass handle in his bony hand. His mahogany-colored hair was wavy and unruly, and it came down to his squared jawbone. He looked about thirty and a pair of oval-shaped glasses with brass rims were rested on his Roman-shaped nose. Suddenly, Harry noticed this fellow's brass-colored eyes were looking at him. "Don't be afraid of me, Mr. Potter," the wizard said calmly. Once Harry came downstairs, he got a better glance at this visitor of his. The man was clearly exhausted, and looked as if he was about to fall asleep. He yawned, and then introduced himself. "My name is Phoebus Stellian, and I was sent here because an important professor over at Hogwarts wanted to make sure you got something. That was how I knew this was the correct address." At that, Phoebus got up wearily and yawned again. "Sorry, I left most of the stuff in my Mitsubishi, so I'll have to make a few trips in and out of the house. I hope you will excuse me."

"How about I help you, Mr. Stellian?" asked Harry. "You look pretty tired."

Phoebus sighed. "I am, but I can manage this. Here's the letter."

Harry opened the letter. "Well, Harry, I'll be unloading, so if there's anything in there, I suggest you go ahead and read it." Phoebus walked out the door and started pulling a few more boxes out of his Mitsubishi. Harry turned to see Phoebus collapse and fall asleep on the grass. He shrugged and unfolded the letter. It was a creamy gold color and was written in a really fancy silvery script. Harry read:

"Harry Potter,

I hope this letter has reached you, because this is a very important matter concerning your education at Hogwarts. You are probably aware that you are about to start your sixth year here, but have you put any thought into the advanced classes offered by our superior teachers? In case you did not know, Hogwarts is the only school in the wizarding world that offers Advanced Alchemy, Advanced Astrology, Manipulation, Advanced Clairvoyancy, Animagery, and Necromancy. If you are looking for a great opportunity to become even more powerful than you already are, you might want to consider one of these classes. I thank you in advance for taking the time to read this letter, and hope you will think about taking my class. Please accept these gifts as a token of my appreciation for your heroic efforts thus far...or you could consider these to be early birthday presents, take your pick. Keep up the good work!

Sincerely,

Professor L. Snitchgrass."

Harry looked at the letter two, maybe even three, times before closing it. He had never heard of Professor Snitchgrass before, and he was sure Dumbledore had never mentioned this teacher to him. Phoebus finally came back in...dripping wet. "Why didn't you wake me up and warn me that this house had automatic sprinklers outside?" he said flatly. "Here are a couple of those presents I was talking about. I just need to get the last one out of the car." He walked back outside and grumbled. His shoes squished as he walked and left large puddles.

Harry looked at the packages and decided to open the large square one first. He opened it with his pocket knife and looked at the fancy new cage that had been inside. There was a small note that said, "For your owl," on it and Harry quickly let Hedwig try out her new brass-latticed home. "Well, that was thoughtful," he said under his breath. He then opened the long cylindrical box next...so see a Soulcatcher broomstick, the newest one on the market. The note with the box said in Professor Snitchgrass's spidery handwriting, "You are really going to have to watch your back this year in Quidditch. A new broomstick will be necessary." He took a look at the broomstick to see he had his name engraved on the handle in gold. 'Apparently, Professor L. Snitchgrass, whoever this person is, really seems to like me,' Harry thought with pleasure.

"Here's that last box, Harry," said Phoebus. "It may be sort of small, but trust me...it's really kind of heavy. Be careful."

"Don't worry, Mr. Stellian. I'll be careful," said Harry as he opened the third box. His eyes widened as he saw what Professor Snitchgrass had sent him...a very expensive crystal ball. The teacher had written, "This can be used in Astrology, Clairvoyancy, Professor Trelawney's class (are you still taking Divination?), and maybe even Necromancy. Crystal balls are status symbols, Harry, and do not come cheap. This particular model (the RedStar model, to be precise) came from Nezuras Curiosity, a very expensive curiosity shop located at Diagon Alley and the higher quality stores. The street name is Occasion Alley in case you ever want to go down there. Please be careful with the RedStar, seeing as this thing made my wallet quite a bit lighter and I cannot afford to purchase you another one. Mitzi Nezura, the crystal artist who made your globe, said this one has a much sharper quality than any other crystal ball you might ever own from any other store. Please, enjoy!

-Professor Snitchgrass"

Harry was completely baffled...a new cage for Hedwig, a new broomstick (a Soulcatcher at that!), and a very costly crystal ball! What did this all mean? "I never even met someone named Snitchgrass..." he muttered and then laughed. "Well, this is obviously not a frugal person. Maybe I should ask Dumbledore about Professor Snitchgrass once school starts." He turned around to see Phoebus had fallen asleep on the couch again. "Mr. Stellian, are you okay?" he asked the man.

Phoebus quickly woke up and yawned again. "I'll be okay, okay? I just need a little rest or caffeine before I take you over to the Weasleys, just like Miss Granger told me to do." After that, Phoebus fell asleep again peacefully. The expression of exasperation left his face and he looked calm...almost dead. Harry bit his lip. Too many people close to him were dying these days. He looked at those gifts again and sighed. He wanted to meet this Professor Snitchgrass and thank him (or her) for the kind generosity with a limited paycheck. This was probably going to be the great beginning of a new friendship.

Suddenly, Aunt Petunia came in and pointed at the young man sprawled out on the sofa. "He's still here?" she asked slightly frightened. "Vernon! What does he want?"

Uncle Vernon shrugged. "How should I know! What does he want, Harry?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Mr. Stellian was sent here to give me a couple of packages and escort me to a friend's home. You won't have to worry about me until next year." He laughed. "I will be heading to Ron's house, right after Mr. Stellian wakes up. He said if you don't get him a green tea or a coffee, he'll put a curse on the three of you!" Harry knew he had lied about the last part, but he had heard Phoebus say he needed a little caffeine before they went off, and he wanted to be nice to the tired wizard.

After Aunt Petunia had made a cup of coffee for Phoebus, Harry and the thin fellow were off to visit the Weasleys. The Mitsubishi wasn't a big car (seeing as it was from Japan), but it did have some comfortable seats. "Want a bite to eat while we're on the road, Harry? I could always stop by a convenience store and pick something up."

Harry laughed. "You know, Mr. Stellian, I never have met a wizard like you."

Phoebus took another sip of his drink. "Your Auntie may not be a smart Muggle, but she sure can make a good cup of coffee. Tell her that, okay? Oh, you can call me Phoebus if you like. I don't like being called Mr. Stellian, because it makes me feel old and it doesn't help that I just turned thirty. And, Harry? What exactly did you mean when you said you have never met a wizard like me?"

"You are really open about being a wizard in the Muggle world," said Harry, "and you use a bewitched Muggle car, and stop at Muggle places. Why?"

"Well, Harry," said Phoebus. "I like almost everything about Muggles, and I don't see why I need to hide. With all these problems in our world, I'm going to make a name for myself wherever I can. I want to be a celebrity like you so I can be someone besides a delivery guy or a security guard. Well, here you are. Good luck in your classes, and I'm sure we'll meet again sometime soon." As Harry pulled out his suitcase, and started walking to the house with his new stuff, he heard Phoebus shout, "By the way, make sure you check out Occasion Alley while shopping for school supplies! Some of the stuff in those stores will knock your socks off, literally." After he said that, Phoebus Stellian drove off in his Japanese car and disappeared into the sunrise.

Harry rushed up to the house and rang the doorbell. Ginny answered it and let him in...her cheeks were turning red. Ron rushed up to Harry and said, "Good to see you, Harry." He held up a piece of parchment. "I just got your letter and Hermione just wrote me to tell me you were coming." He stopped and then asked, "Who was the guy that drove you here, anyway? A friend of yours?"

Harry shook his head. "I just stole a ride with him. One of the teachers at the school had sent him to give me some stuff, so I guess he was just a delivery guy."