To keep track of which chapters have been rewritten, I'm removing the chapter names. So, any chapter titled "Chapter #" is new and any titled "Of Something or other" is old. It makes it easier. Also, naming chapters was getting totally out of hand.

I hope you're enjoying the rewrite. It's fun to revisit this plot like this. Drop me a line to let me know what you think, if you have any suggestions or comments! Thanks so much for reading!

Chapter Three

Dumbledore lead them out his office door. "I have set you up in one of the disused towers. It usually acts as overflow when we have an unusually large class of Gryffindors, but our enrollment is down marginally across houses, so I don't foresee that posing a problem. You each have a suite and there are training rooms, a potion's lab, and a dance studio set up for you. There is also an international floo, with a temporary license. Now that I know you are staying, I will apply for a permanent one."

They trailed after him, while he spoke: down corridors, up staircases, through doorways, and along more hallways. Finally, the headmaster stopped in front of a large painting of what appeared to be an empty rock. Dumbledore clicked his tongue. A white tiger slunk into the frame and prowled its way to lounge across the rock. It turned bright jade eyes on them and waited.

The coven all looked at one another. Why had they stopped here?

"This is the entrance to your rooms. The students have portraits guarding their common rooms, but the teachers have non-verbal paintings. In place of giving a password, simply key into the wards anyone you wish to allow free access." He drew his wand and chanted a short incantation, before tapping the frame twice. "I've opened the wards for you."

Ariadne stepped forward first and tapped the picture frame once. Once they'd all done the same, Dumbledore tapped the frame again, twice. "Excellent. Your quarters are behind this frame. I will have the house elves bring you breakfast in the morning and then one of them can show you to my office. We can discuss contracts and then I can give you a tour of the grounds."

Ariadne inclined her head. "Good night, Headmaster."

"Good night, Mistresses. I wish you lovely dreams."

They watched as he strode off, down the corridor again. "So…" Ariadne said, turning back to the picture.

The five women stood and stared at the cat. The cat stared back. For a moment, none of them moved, then the painting swung open to reveal a large stone archway. The Coven glanced at one another. Ariadne led the way inside.

The room inside was warm and welcoming. A fire roared in the enormous fireplace, casting flickering light across the couches and table that clustered around it. On the other side of the room stood a large dining table with seating for ten. Everything was done in shades of lavender, from the upholstery to the rugs tossed across the stone floor. Thick tapestries, depicting coven magic, covered the walls. On the far side of the room, two archways led to staircases. There was a small sign above each archway. The one on the left read 'Living' and the one of the right 'Training'.

They stood for a long moment, simply taking in the space. Finally, Ekantika broke the silence. "I vote we go find our rooms and crash for the night." She looked exhausted, her normally cinnamon skin gone ashy with fatigue.

Aurelia and Isoko both nodded, both also looking ready to drop. Ariadne nodded. The group trooped silently up the left staircase.

Five landings broke the staircase into pieces, a door on each one. They crowded onto the first landing, exhaustion forgotten in the excitement of discovering their new quarters.

Olympia opened the first door. Inside was a study, heavy wood desk tuck under a window on the far side. There were empty bookcases on either side of the desk. Aurelia stepped through first, noticing that there were also empty bookcases on either side of the door to the landing. To the left was another fireplace. Ariadne glanced at the fire crackling merrily away and then to the empty bookcases on either side. Someone did not plan this well, she thought idly, thank god for magic or the whole castle would have burned down by now.

Across from the fireplace was another door. Aurelia opened this one to find a bedroom beyond. The room had two levels. The doorway they stood in opened into a sitting area with two armchairs and a settee, all in a pale lavender that matched the drapes. These, like the ones in the main room downstairs, were clustered around yet another fireplace. Behind the settee, there was a single step that was the width of the room. On the upper level loomed a giant four-poster, a wardrobe, and a door that presumably led to a bathroom. The carpeting and the bedlinen were a rich, royal purple, as was the canopy over the bed.

They all turned to Aurelia the minute they noticed the decor. She was the only one of the group who liked decorating in purple. Sure enough, she was grinning from ear-to-ear and staring enviously at the bed. "We'll leave you to it then?" She nodded absently and the other filed back out through the study.

As it turned out, four of the five rooms were identical, but for color scheme. Ekantika claimed the buttercup yellow room on the second landing and Isoko the pink one on the third. Olympia popped into the room on the fourth landing, noting the beautiful blues and aquas of the decor, before returning to the landing.

Ariadne raised an eyebrow at her. She shrugged. "I'm curious."

This satisfied the High Priestess and so they trudged up the last flight of stairs. Beyond the final study, the two women found not a bedroom, but a set of stairs. The door at the top opened into a semi-circular room with the same split-level layout as the other bedrooms. The step up to the sleeping area bore a small black picket fence.

Three floor-to-ceiling windows dappled the room in opal moonlight, which cast eery shadows. The armchairs and settee at first appeared to be coated in blood. The hangings and canopy on the ebony bed were the same. The whole effect was extremely unsettling until, after a beat or two of panic, they realized that what looked like blood was actually just the crimson color of the velvet upholstery and a trick of the full moon.

Olympia shuddered at the gothic feel of the space, which wasn't helped, she noted, by the wrought iron chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

Ariadne took two jerky steps into the room and stopped. She stood there, breathing quietly. Olympia watched her, unease making her skin crawl. Darkness was not always good for her High Priestess.

"It's so lovely."

Olympia smiled, relieved. "Good night, Ari. I'll see you in the morning."

Ariadne hummed a little and turned to do a slow circuit of the room, running her hands lightly over the furniture. "Lovely dreams, Ari. And may flights of angels wing thee to thy rest."

Olympia snorted and shut the door behind her as she left.

###

The next morning dawned earlier than any of the Coven would have preferred, but at least breakfast had already been laid out on the dining table when they stumbled downstairs. There was a large, steaming carafe of strong coffee sitting on the sideboard, for which they all gratefully lined up.

Once caffeinated and therefore ready to face the day, Aurelia broke the silence. "So, do we go inspect the other hallway or do we go see Dumbledore?"

Ariadne shook her head. "Let's get the contracts nailed down before we go exploring."

Ekantika nodded. "I'd like that to no longer be hanging over our heads."

No one objected, although Aurelia did look vaguely disappointed. The trip back to the Headmaster's office was a lot of trial-and-error and a lot of asking paintings for directions. They finally managed it, after only half a dozen wrong turns and one wrong staircase.

They gave the Guardian Statue the password, "Watermelon Sherbert," and trooped up the stairs.

Dumbledore had set up a large circular table, sometime since yesterday and it was covered in paperwork. He looked up from his seat at the table and smiled. "Ah, Mistresses. Thank you for joining me. Please sit. I've hand copies of your contracts drawn up. I hope you'll find them to your satisfaction." The group gathered round the table and passed papers back and forth until everyone had their own. "It's all in the contract, of course, but I'd like you all to be available to answer questions on Coven Magic for a set time each week. I would also have all of you together teach a seminar or two on Coven Magic. Obviously, the size of the class would determine the number of sections."

Ariadne nodded absently. Like the rest of the women, she was only listening to him with one ear as she read through the contract. She was being given the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. Which made sense, she supposed, given how much exposure to the Dark Arts she had and how honed her fighting skills were. She would apparently also be teaching a joint elective with Olympia on dueling practices. She'd been expecting worse, although now that she thought about it, she wasn't sure she had any other skills that actually translated to the classroom. Espionage wasn't really a Hogwarts-type class.

Once she was finished reading through hers, she leaned over to skim Olympia's. She'd be teaching Ancient Runes. Isoko, who was standing on her other side, would be teaching History of Magic. She was surprised. Binns the Ghost Professor was notorious even across the pond. It was about time they swapped him out for someone living.

"I have chosen classes in order to utilize your particular skillset. If there were additional classes you believe would be beneficial to the student body, please let me know and we can work something out. As of now, you each have a core class and an elective. Ekantika, please leave instructions with the house elves on how you'd like the studio for your magical dance class set up. Isoko, I'm assuming you'd prefer to teach archery outside. Talk to Hagrid about it. Aurelia, I've got Professor Sprout coming to give you a tour of the castle. While she does, please speak to her about the best location for your Herbal Properties class. She'll also be able to supply your materials."

Isoko tilted her head. "Does Sprout already teach Herbology?"

Dumbledore nodded. "She does. But Herbology is about the care of and harvesting of plants. Potions teaches the use of plants and the preparation, but neither class teaches the inherent properties." Isoko nodded. Made sense. "Olympia, Ariadne, I have taken the liberty of setting you up in a room with a traditional dueling circle and a stocked weapons cabinet, similar to the one in your quarters."

Olympia shrugged. "We haven't had a chance to look yet, but I'm sure it's fine."

Ariadne gave her answer in the form of a signature. She grabbed one of the quills out of the communal ink well in the middle of the table and signed the contract with a flourish. Spelling it dry, she handed it over to the Headmaster.

"Excellent. You ladies have my gratitude, once again."

Ariadne snorted. They'd had his gratitude before, for all the good it did them. "Have you upheld your end of the bargain, then?"

Dumbledore sighed heavily and opened his mouth, but never got the chance to answer. The door to his office opened and a tall, thin man with austere black robes appeared in it.

Ariadne's mouth went dry as a punch of lust hit her hard enough to steal her breath. He was pale and hawkish with a proud slash of a mouth. His hair was long and black and seemed to be threatening to fall forward to cover his face at any moment. There was power in his frame, the kind you only acquire in a warzone. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen a man she wanted more.

"You must be Severus Snape." Isoko said, almost accusing.

The man raised an eyebrow, looking around at them all. "Indeed, I am. It would seem you have the advantage on me though, as I do not recognize…" He paused when his gaze finally fell on Ariadne. His eyes narrowed. "Mistress Aureus."

His voice was a silky baritone, with a hint of sibilance to it. Ariadne thought she might actually go weak at the knees. She counted it as a win when her response came out normal, though she had no idea how he knew who she was. "Yes and yet, we have not met before. I'd have remembered." She offered him a tentative smile."

His lip curled in the ghost of a smile. "No, we have not. I have seen you speak at conferences before and I follow your work quite avidly. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Dumbledore stood. "Severus, let me introduce you to our newest faculty members: the Summer Coven." He introduce them each in turn, giving their full titles and new jobs. he said Ariadne for last. "And it seems you already know High Priestess Ariadne Aureus, Mistress Dueler and Mistress of the Dark Arts. She will be taking over where…Well, thinking about it, the recent history of the Defense position is a little complicated."

"An understatement, Albus." Severus snorted, but offered his hand to each woman in turn. "It is an honor to meet such pioneering women. I have heard much about the Summer Coven."

A shiver of tension curled up Ariadne's spine. "I'm sure you have, Master Snape. Not all of it good, I would bet." He frowned and opened his mouth, but before he could respond, Ariadne shook her head. "We know who you are. And we know exactly what's said about us among…your old crowd. There's no need to pretend."

Severus' eyes went immediately to the headmaster. "Severus, they were of course informed of your position from the beginning as a safety measure."

"So it's true then…What the rumors whisper." He looked back at Ariadne. "You are assassins."

Ariadne smiled at him. He fought a flinch. "We are. Among other things."

"Ladies, would you please excuse us? I'm afraid it's time that I upheld my end of the agreement."

Ariadne nodded. "We'll be in our quarters. Send someone for us when you are finished."

Dumbledore nodded and they left him to his fate.