The Serpent and the Raven

Raven found that as the week went on, teaching got easier, but Snape still acted cold to her. She asked him what she had done, but he simply told her to leave him alone. She decided to do as he wished, and began to spend her free time with Pomona Sprout. The two women had become fast friends, and were often seen talking in the staff room over their lesson plans. She also began to get the hang of teaching, with a little advice from Pomona, and had had no reason to give anyone else detention.

By Friday, she was reasonably sure she could handle teaching. Her first few classes went well. Her last class of the day was the Griffindor seventh years. The first person who entered her class was someone she knew: Harry Potter. (AN: I know it doesn't fit with the books and movies for Harry and his friends to be there and Dumbledore alive, but this was the best time I could come up with.) With him was the bushy-haired girl he'd been defending, and a red-haired boy with freckles. The girl pulled her friends to the front desks, making Raven smirk for a moment before wiping it away. She wanted her classes to know from the begining that she was strict and no-nonsense, and it wouldn't help that image if the first thing her students saw was a smirk on her gave the same begining speach she'd given all her classes and asked if there were any questions. When there were none, she turned to the board. "I'm going to teach you things in this class a few things you would never learn from another teacher. Some things are so rare, you will probably never face them outside my classroom. However, it is best to be prepared, on the unlikely chance you do. Our first class..." She took a deep breath, commiting herself. "Will be on Demons." She used her powers to write the word on the blackboard. "Who can tell me a few basic things about demons?"

Potter's bushy-haired girlfriend raised her hand. Raven pointed at her. "Name and answer."

"Hermione Granger. Demons are the most evil, vicious, and dangerous of Dark creatures. They have no morals, and are mindless killers."

Raven looked at the girl a moment. "You are partly right. Demons are vicious, and the purebloods are evil. On the other hand, they are not mindless murderers with no morals. They have their own, very strict traditions and moral codes. Blood is incredibly important to demons. No matter how much a Demon hates its offspring, it expects undying loyalty. To break even the simplest of traditions is considered the height of treason, and if the offender is pureblood, the penalty is death. Half-blood descendants of Demons are often more like their other half than their Demon half. If a Half-blood breaks the traditions, he or she is banished from the Demon home dimension, and will be executed if they return. Demons do kill with little provocation, but when a Demon kills, he or she was provoked. Half-bloods are usually normal people in most ways, having two sides. Their demon side will usually only emerge when they're extremely angry or feeling intense hatred. Under most circumstances, a Half-blood Demon is not very different from a normal human or whatever their other half is." She looked around the class. "Any questions so far?"

One boy raised his hand. "Why would anyone marry a demon? Why are there even half-bloods?"

Raven felt her heart clench. "Sometimes, when people are depressed, they turn to Satanic cults, and through them become the mates of Demons. Other times, a Demon will take a human form to take a mate. Most commonly, Demons trick their non-demon mates, but occasionally there is consent on the other being's part. It depends on the situation." She looked around. "Anyone else?"

Granger raised her hand. "How do you know so much about Demon Traditions? I've read the book you assigned three times, and other books on Demons, but I've never read about any of these things."

Raven turned to her blackboard. "That shall be explained at a later time. Moving on." She continued with her lesson, covering the basics of Demon traditions. At the end of her lesson, Raven wrote the homework assignment on the board. "You will read the prophecy on page twenty of your books, and write an essay on your interpretation of it. There is no minimum length, but you must explain thoroughly why you interpret the prophecy that way. If someone in this get it correct, I will answer Granger's question about how I know so much about Demons." With that, Raven dismissed her class, hoping no one would get the answer right.

(AN: Should someone get the answer right? Should Raven approach Severus, or the other way around? Tell me what you want to happen. I always like to know what my readers think.)