As classes dragged on that day, Professor Snape's mind kept wandering back to thoughts that were not his own. At times, he felt as tough he were the intruder as he came across thoughts that were purely private. There were thoughts of a nameless woman and a sense of despair that goes along with the loss of a loved one. "What do these,. WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Professor realized that he snapped at the whimpering idiot standing by his desk.

Neville Longbottom stood on shaky legs after hearing this outburst from the usually calm and menacing professor. "Sir, well, I, uh um" Longbottom struggled compose himself. "Yesss.." said Snape, now displaying his normal menacingly cold voice, though he was silently rebuking himself for allowing himself to be startled out of a daydream in his own class, where he, of all those present, should be the most attentive. "Something isn't right with my potion." "Why am I not surprised," Snape said to the boy. It appeared that yet again, the pudgy boy had made some idiotic mistake and added the porcupine quills instead of the unicorn hair resulting in a concoction that was the color of rotten mustard and not clear emerald green. The potion was also foaming and about to boil over onto the clean floor of his classroom. "Out! All of you. Now!" Snape snapped as he dismissed the class.

Slowly, he approached the smoking cauldron and was contemplating his own impending doom. To his pleasant surprise, the cauldron did not explode, but in it was a concoction that was a potion all in its own. Of course, the potion was toxic, but still, the curious Potions Master filled a beaker with the foul, reeking substance before making the rest disappear. Maybe this would give the Gryfindor NEWT Potions class something to research. Maybe, but not probably. Normally, under these circumstances, the Potions Master was in charge of discovering the good and bad properties of newly discovered potions. Students had no such time for things like potions, oh no, they had much more important things like quiddich and playing pranks on their adversarial houses. Nope, no time in this school for studying hideous, reeking substances with unknown effects.

Rumors began circulating after that first class. Several Gryffindors happily discussed the incident after class. Professor Snape's outburst at Neville had caused quite a few sniggers from one group of Gryffindors in particular. "If you didn't notice," began a rather haughty Hermione Granger, " he fell asleep in class." Standing next to her, Ronald Weasly was sniggering out of control. "Its just..he..not..like..well..the average every day greasy haired git we normally get stuck with." Hermione smacked him on the shoulder for the remark with the "respect him, he is a teacher" remark. Ron held a mock-hurt expression, but quickly dropped it and took his girlfriend's hand in resignation. Behind them, Harry Potter was busy flirting with a young girl from Ravenclaw. "Oy, Harry" Ron called "kiss now, tell later, we're going to be late to Transfiguration." "So, what did you get out of potions today," Ron said with a slight laugh. Harry smiled lightly at the comment, but he was genuinely concerned. It was definitely not like Snape of all professors to just fall asleep in class. Something was up, but what. "Well," he retorted, "I guess I learned not to add porcupine quills in the place of unicorn hair to certain healing potions." "I also learned that Snape is not the person to disturb while he is sleeping." At that, the three students made their way down the hallway to class. The sniggering and quips about Snape and his incident in class continued their way around the school as can be expected with this bunch of students.

Humiliated, Snape quickly made for Dumbledore's office. He just could not continue with his classes while wild, strange memories invaded his mind and distracted him from his classes. "Still troubled are you, Severus." Dumbledore was standing outside his office as if he were awaiting Snape's visit. "Why don't we step inside and discus this small matter?" Dumbledore was smiling in that way that only he could get away with without being stared into the ground by the grouchy Potions Master. "This intruder," began Snape "I still do not believe him to be a threat to the students. He seems to be, Headmaster, a victim of sorts." Snape paused for a while awaiting any comments from Dumbledore. When none came, he continued, "The students are beginning to suspect that something is amiss, and it will not be long until that Potter and his crew of miscreants start poking their noses in this mess." These words caused Dumbledore's smile to return. In his opinion, Severus's misgivings about Harry Potter and his friends was quite amusing. "Maybe, now would be the time to pay our guest a visit," the old wizard mused to no one in particular. "Severus, why don't you use your Occlumency to communicate with this intruder and allow him to know that someone will be paying him a visit and not to be alarmed." "Very well, Headmaster" said Snape. Severus closed his eyes and seemed to be in deep thought for a moment. "It is done," he said and slowly opened his eyes. "Well, lets go right some wrongs."

The two wizards left Dumbledore's office and set off in the direction of the bathroom which housed the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.