Chapter Twelve- Cats and Potions Don't Mix

Breakfast with the other professors had gone unexpectedly well. After a long and awkward walk with Professor Snape, Clara was relieved that the other teachers were much more outgoing than he was. During the school term, the professors normally sat in a row at the head table, but during the summer, the house tables were pushed to the side and a large circular table was put out for the remaining professors to dine. Many of the teachers traveled during the summer to visit family, do research and take vacations, so there were only a few still in residence at the moment.

Clara was given a seat in between Pomona Sprout and Rolanda Hooch. Both ladies seemed very pleased to be seated in such close proximity to the young woman and drilled her with multiple questions during the entire breakfast. Also in attendance were Filius Flitwick and Minerva McGonagall, who spent most of the meal in deep conversation with Albus.

Clara couldn't help but notice that both Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall kept eyeing her skeptically. The Professors had already expressed their concerns to the Headmaster about his choice to bring her to the school. Minerva was particularly concerned that Albus had too much on his plate as it was without adding another person to protect. The small group spent well over an hour eating and conversing about the upcoming school term. Albus had informed all the professors of the reason why Clara would be indefinitely living at the school. Each one of them expressed their extreme willingness to help Clara adapt to Hogwarts life in anyway they could…all except Professor Snape of course.

Halfway through the meal Clara felt something soft brush up against her leg underneath the table. "Oh Lord, not this again," thought Clara recalling the last time an event like this had occurred. "It better not be another demonic House Elf," she thought, feeling slightly annoyed.

Clara started to squirm in her seat and kick her legs to get whatever was down there away from her. Not wanting to embarrass herself, she politely kept conversing with the spiky haired lady seated next to her. Rolanda had been bombarding Clara with questions about American football and how she could adapt different techniques to improve offensive plays in Quidditch. Clara didn't have the heart to tell her that she knew just about as much about football as she did about Quidditch…nothing. Clara had always been much more of a baseball fan. She could practically see the Atlanta Braves stadium from her old condo's living room window. Perhaps she could teach Rolanda a few things about baseball later down the road. Severus had been discreetly watching the young lady from across the table. A frown grew across his face as he watched her twitching and squirming.

"What is she up to?" he thought to himself.

Whatever was down there had attached its self to the laces of her shoes and no matter how hard she kicked, it would not relinquish its hold.

A loud bang broke Severus' concentration on the young woman as Argus Filch ran into the hall in a frenzy.

"I can't find her! Where is she?" he yelled as he started pushing over chairs and looking under tables.

Clara took the man's appearance as a welcomed distraction since all eyes were now off of her. After scooting back her chair, she slowly lifted up her foot. A pair of bulging yellow, lamp-like eyes peered up at her.

"Oh, thank God, it's just a cat," she said quietly to herself. "Ok, kitty, I think it's time for you to get off my foot," she said as she gently tried to push the clinging feline off with both hands.

It was not that Clara had anything against cats, it was just that she was extremely allergic to them. Just having this one hanging onto her shoe was already making her eyes water and her nose itch. The cat seemed to think that Clara was trying to play a game so she began to claw her way up Clara's leg to get to her lap. All attention was still on Argus who was now crawling on his hands and knees looking underneath the staff member's chairs. Each time Clara would detach one paw from her pants, the cat would attach another paw.

"Ok, demonic kitty, it is time to…oh no…this is bad." Clara's nose began to tickle as an enormous sneeze started to build up. She hated sneezing in public because they usually sounded like a freight train horn.

"AH…AH…AHCHOO," sneezed Clara, causing the whole room to turn and look in her direction. The cat seemed unfazed by the loud noise exploding in its ear and kept right on crawling its way up Clara's shirt to perch on her shoulders.

"Mrs. Norris, what are you doing there?" cried Argus as he stomped around the table to retrieve his beloved cat.

"Clara, it looks like you saved the day," smiled Albus giving her a little clap.

"Huh? Oh thanks…AHCHOO…she just…AHCHOO…sorta attached herself to me," mumbled Clara as she sneezed and snorted repeatedly.

"Are you ok, dear?" asked Pomona with genuine concern.

"Yes, are you alright, Clara?" asked the squeaky little voice of Filus Flitwick.

"Oh yeah, I'm ok. I just have a bit of a cat allergy," smiled Clara as she attempted to hide her runny nose with her napkin.

"Well, then you might want to stay away from Minerva," laughed Rolanda, causing Professor McGonagall to shoot her back an unimpressed glare.

The breakfast ended a few minutes later with no more interruptions. Clara was just about to head back to her room to change out of her now cat hair infested clothing but was blocked by the imposing figure of Severus Snape.

"The Headmaster has just reminded me for the fourth time this hour that I am to give you a tour of the potions lab. I assume you can avoid being attacked by animals for the next few moments or do I need to procure you a net?" he asked without cracking a smile.

Clara didn't know if he was trying to make a joke or was just being an ass once again, so she just nodded and followed behind him. Halfway down the long, dark stairwell leading to the potions labs, Clara let out another enormous sneeze. She just barely had time to cover her mouth since she had been so concerned about tripping down the uneven stairs. She had been using both hands to grip the banister when her sneeze erupted.

"Miss Lanning, do try to show some decency and cover your mouth," muttered Severus.

"I did!" snapped Clara, looking quite embarrassed.

"Look, not all of us are impressed or sympathetic to your cries for attention," hissed Severus as he whipped out a handkerchief from his robe pocket and shoved it into the stunned girl's hands.

"I…I'm sorry professor. I am trying to stop it's just that I…"

"I'm not interested in your sob stories, just stop sneezing everywhere," he snapped.

Clara blew her nose into the white hanky as quietly as she could. Once removing it from her red nose, she held it awkwardly in front of her, unsure of what to do with it next.

"Obviously, I will not be wanting it back, Miss Lanning. Just keep it. I have plenty of them. Now come along," he said, sounding more irritated by the minute.

"Obviously, I will not be wanting it back," she mimicked sarcastically in her best deep "man" voice. She was really getting sick of his rudeness. Severus raised his eyebrows and stared back at the girl. Wanting to put more distance between the two of them, he turned quickly and resumed his trek down the stairs.

Before folding the hanky neatly to place in her pocket, Clara ran her fingers across a small green embroidered "S" that was located in one of the corners. It was done in a beautiful script and looked handmade. Clara wanted to ask him who had made it but by the time she looked up, the man was a good fifteen stairs below her, walking faster now with his robes billowing behind him. She had to take two steps at a time just to keep up with him. The stairs finally ended and they soon began walking down a narrow corridor.

"These are the dungeons, Miss Lanning. There should never be a reason for you to be down here unaccompanied at any time. The Slytherin dorms are located down here, as well as the potions classroom, storerooms, labs and my quarters. Most Slytherin students will not take kindly to you being allowed in the school so do not expect any warm welcomes. It is best if you stay out of their way for your own safety," droned the young man as he lead Clara into a large, gloomy looking classroom.

The so-called 'classroom' looked more like a medieval jail and torture room. Clara was now, more than ever, regretting ever opening her mouth about wanting to see a real potion.

"Good heavens, they let children come down here!" she thought to herself as she gazed at all the jars and bottles filled with disgusting-looking contents. She was pretty sure one of them contained preserved eyes balls and she had to hold her breath and count to ten so not to lose her breakfast.

Still having to almost run to keep up with the tall man, Clara followed Severus through a door located in the back of the classroom. The young woman's eyes widened as she saw a spread of bubbling cauldrons and smoldering fires.

"This is amazing," she said softly as she walked around the room, taking in the colorful contents of each cauldron.

She tried to be mindful of not getting too close to any of them but this apparently was not good enough for the Potions Master. She soon felt his warm breath tickle her ear and the side of her neck as Severus leaned over from behind her.

"I am sure I do not have to explain to an adult how dangerous it can be if you get too close to these caldrons," spoke the deep velvety voice of Severus Snape.

"No, Professor," replied Clara giving a small involuntary shudder due to his closeness.

"You may go sit over there," he said gesturing to a small stool by his worktable. "I need to add a few ingredients to this burn-healing paste. Once I am finished, I will escort you back upstairs to your quarters."

Clara nodded and silently watched him work. There was no denying that he was definitely in his element. He seemed much more at ease down here in his sanctuary of darkness than when he was around large groups of people. His hands glided across the table with ease as he reached for different bottles and vials. He chopped up his ingredients with the care and precision of a musician playing a delicate instrument, or an artist painting the smallest details on a canvas. Clara noticed that each time he bent over to get a closer look at something, a strand of his long, jet black hair would fall into his pale face. He kept constantly tucking it behind his ears only to have it flop back across his eyes moments later. His hair looked slightly greasy but she guessed it was just from standing over a simmering caldron for hours on end. She was constantly in a battle to keep her hair from being a frizzy mess so she wasn't one to judge others for their hair issues.

Clara had always been the type of person to help those around her no matter how they treated her. It was in her nature to care for others and was a trait that had been passed on to her from her father. After a few moments of working up the courage to speak, Clara took a small hair tie she normally kept around her wrist and slowly walked over to Professor.

"Ummm…Professor Snape…Would you like to use this to tie your hair back?" she asked nervously as she held out the band to the now scowling man.

"What?...Oh…I guess so," he said gruffly as he snatched the tie from her hands. "Thank you," he murmured almost inaudibly.

Clara gave him a small smile and quietly went back to her perch. Severus ran his nimble fingers through his hair and with a few quick motions, he pulled his shoulder length hair into a low ponytail. He would never admit it to the girl but it really was a big help. He wasn't sure why he had never thought of it before.

Clara was amazed at what an improvement it was for the Professor. He was a very handsome man but the inky curtain of hair usually hid his sculpted facial features. Now that it was pulled out of the way, she could get a better look as to what his face, neck and shoulders truly had to offer.

After a half an hour of working Severus was in such deep thought that he had almost forgotten that Clara was in the room. Due to all the fires simmering and caldrons bubbling, the temperature had grown increasingly warm making Severus shrug off his thick teaching robe. After draping it across the bench beside him he continued de-layering by removed his heavy wool frock coat and unbuttoning the first few buttons of his shirt collar. The decorous Professor was never seen without his multiple layers of black but while alone in his lab, he rarely kept it all on.

Clara continued to watch the man with renewed interest as he rolled up his stiffly pressed right sleeve revealing the smooth pale skin of his muscular forearm. Clara remembered how lovely his arms had felt in her dream but her interest was once again peaked as she saw how nice his skin actually looked. Severus was about to roll up his left sleeve when he heard a muffled sneeze from the corner of the room. He quickly smoothed both sleeves down and buttoned up his top collar button as he was reminded of her presence.

After a few more minutes of silently working, Severus turned to Clara only to catch her staring attentively back at him. It shocked him when their eyes met, but being the master of self-control that he was, she didn't notice. Clara had pulled her own hair up into a messy knot of curls on top of her head. The heat and humidity had caused the tiny curls that had fallen out of the knot to curl even tighter into soft ringlets that surrounded her flushed face. Under the glow of caldron fire, her skin seemed to glisten, causing Severus' gaze to travel down her neck to the exposed skin of her chest.

"Do you need me to do anything, Professor Snape?" she asked looking clearly confused as to why he was staring at her.

"Oh…well, I suppose you could hand me the jar of aloe root. It is in the green jar right behind you. Don't drop it."

After locating the jar he requested, she slowly and carefully carried it across the room to lay it in front of him. Not bothering to say "thank you", he continued working, ignoring the fact that Clara remained standing beside him. Clara found herself once again transfixed on his long pale fingers. She had become completely engrossed in the memory of in her dream and what those fingers had felt like playing with her hair and running down her back, that she completely missed the fact that a sneeze was suddenly coming on. Without warning or time to completely cover her mouth, Clara let out large, explosive sneeze right over the simmering caldron in front of her. After catching her breath and wiping the moisture from her eyes, she froze in her spot, not wanting to look up at Severus.

"Shit, he is going to kill me," she thought as she slowly tilted her eyes to see his reaction.

Severus however was not looking at Clara. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the potion sitting directly in front of them. It had been a constant golden color for the past hour but now it was slowly turning violent shade of scarlet.

The next few seconds seemed to move in slow motion. Clara slowly turned her head following the direction of Severus' gaze only to see that the now red potion had begun to bubble ferociously. Clara tried to step back in an attempt to get away from the now volatile looking potion. Before she could take more than one step, Severus pounced on top of her, enveloping her in his long arms and sent them both crashing down onto the ground. Clara didn't see anything but she could hear the sound of a large explosion and felt the searing heat from the blast.

After a few seconds of feeling disoriented and stunned, Clara slowly blinked open her eyes only to find that Severus Snape's body was laying completely on top of her. One hand was cradling her head and the other snaked under her lower back, which protected her from the brunt of the fall. His head was resting unmoving on her chest. Clara was terrified and didn't know what to do next. The weight of his body was crushing her to the ground and his locked arms imprisoned her in his hold. Clara knew that he was going to be angry and she wanted nothing more then to melt into the floor and disappear forever. After a few silent seconds, Severus lifted his head and let out a low groan. His arms and knees ached from receiving the brunt of the impact with the hard floor. He looked up and found two startled blue eyes staring back at him.

"Professor Snape, are you okay?" squeaked Clara.

Clara noticed that he had received a small scratch on his cheek. She reached out her hand in an attempt to tilt his head so she could get a better look. Not wanting to be touched, Severus jerked his head out of her reach and glared back at her.

"I…I'm so sorry, Professor. I didn't mean…"

"Get out," he said so softly that Clara almost didn't hear him.

Severus stood up letting out another groan as his battered muscles protested his movements. Clara was still too afraid to move. After brushing off more of the dust and debris off of his clothing, he turned and looked down at the girl once again. She looked like a small scared child but Severus was unsympathetic.

"Miss Lanning, did the blast affect your hearing? I said…GET…OUT," he enunciated crisply with disdain dripping from every syllable.

Trying to work up a minimal amount of courage she slowly sat up and pulled herself off the dusty floor. " I didn't mean to do this, Professor. I promise I will clean it all up. It was just an…"

Before Clara could finish her apology the tall imposing man wrapped his fingers around her shaking arm and pushed her up against the wall behind her. Bending down so he was directly at eye level, he spoke in a quiet yet extremely intimidating manner. "You should never have been brought here. Dumbledore is a fool if he thinks such a brainless muggle will be able to survive in this world. You are nothing but a child that I am forced to babysit. Now I will not tell you again… GET. OUT. NOW."

Not wanting to cry in front of the Professor, she successfully blinked back the tears in her eyes, but no matter how hard she tried to contain it, a small sob slipped out of her lips.

"It was only an accident. You don't have to be so mean," she snapped as she tried to wiggle out of his grasp.

"I will stop being mean when you stop getting in the way," he retaliated as he tightened his grip.

"Well, you need to learn to control your temper! I don't think Albus would like it if he knew how ridiculous you were being," she fussed, trying to keep herself together.

"Oh, so are going to run and tattle on me to Daddy?" he smirked.

Clara responded by giving him another glare, but kept her mouth shut.

After a few more seconds of scowling, Severus dropped his hold of her arm. Clara scrambled to the door, too afraid to look back. She was horrified and embarrassed. How could she have been so foolish as to think she would actually fit in here?

She ran straight out of the classroom and down the dark corridor. She made it all the way to the steps that led out of the dungeons before she finally let the tears start to pour. She was angry. Angry with herself for messing everything up, angry at Albus for sticking her with that man, angry at the bad men that beat her and ruined her life, and angry at her father for leaving her so many months ago.

"I could run away," she thought as she trudged up the narrow stairway. But that thought was quickly dismissed when she realized she didn't know where the school was actually located. She didn't even know if the school's gates would let her leave. She was stuck here and she had messed it all up on her first day in the place.

It took a good half hour and at least a dozen inquiries to various portraits before she reached her quarters again. The castle was bigger then she thought and all the corridors looked the same. She was pretty sure Albus had not intended her to be wandering around by herself her first day, but there was no way she would ever ask for help from Professor Snape again.

Minstrel Thomas flew into a frenzy of song when he saw the splotchy faced woman approach his portrait. After trying to at least smile politely at his attempt to cheer her up, she placed her hand on his frame and opened her door. Clara flopped onto her squishy couch and flung a throw pillow over her face in an attempt to block out the world. She tried to make herself think of anything else but what had just occurred, but all she kept seeing was the glowering face of Severus Snape staring back at her. She had never really come into contact with anyone so cantankerous in her life. Growing up, if she had made a mistake or had an accident, her father had always been very loving and understanding. Even her teachers and ballet instructors showed more patience than this man. His attitude towards her since they had met had been a stark contrast to his actions in her dream.

Suddenly Clara sat up, causing the throw pillow to tumble to the ground. Questions started swarming around in her mind that she had never thought to ask before.

"Why was Severus Snape in my dream in the first place?" she thought to herself.

There had been so much information to take in this past week that she never thought to ask Albus why she had seen Professor Snape in her dream. She also wanted to know why, out of all the professors and Order members, was he the one that was supposed to be looking out for her. He obviously hated everyone so why make her spend any extra amount of time around that horrible man?

With a newly formed mission, Clara stomped across the room to the bookcase. The ballerina figurine was asleep again and didn't seem as enthusiastic this time to be woken up. After the small statue gave a halfhearted plie, the large bookcase rolled over to the side, revealing a narrow passageway. Clara peeked her head inside, wishing to herself that she had asked Albus to walk with her the first time she tried this. The passageway was dark and Clara had no flashlight or even a candle.

"Note to self…ask Tonks to go shopping for me," she thought to herself as she stepped into the passageway. As soon as she stepped inside, a small row of torches held in wall sconces burst into flames lighting her path.

"Wow, that's service," she exclaimed out loud.

Now that her path was clearly lit, she started on her way. The dusty old passageway reminded Clara of a scene from an Indiana Jones movie, causing her to hum the theme song as she tramped down the dimly lit tunnel. The small hallway ended revealing a small spiral staircase. After only a few seconds, Clara ended up at the top, looking at a large wooden sliding door.

"Well, I guess I just open it," she said out loud as she tugged on the oversized handle.

The heavy door rolled surprisingly easy off to the side without Clara having to exert any effort. The sliding doorway opened right into the Headmasters bright and airy office. After taking a second for her eyes to adjust to the difference in brightness Clara softly stepped inside and was immediately greeted by the smiling face of Albus Dumbledore. The Headmaster had been hard at work at his desk but was pleased to hear his bookcase roll open announcing his visitor.

"Awww, Clara dear, I am so pleased that you are making use of your private entrance," he said with a smile. He immediately noticed Clara's look of dejection accompanied with a runny nose and splotchy face.

"Why don't you come have a seat?" he said gently as he motioned to a large seat right in front of his desk. "Am I to guess that your tour with Professor Snape did not go well?"

"It was horrible. He hates me! I messed up the potion…there was this explosion and then he yelled at me," she gulped trying blink back the tears that were slowly forming in her eyes. "He said that I was nothing but a child that he was forced to babysit for and I would never be able to survive living in ya'll's world."

Albus frowned, clearly disappointed that Severus would be so hard on the woman her first day at Hogwarts. He had really wanted this next month before the students returned to be a calming and relaxing time to introduce the wizarding world to Clara. Severus was not helping matters by flying off the handle.

"He's right…just look at me. I am acting like a child…it's just that…"

"Clara, you have every right to be upset. Severus is a teacher and should know that accidents like that happen all the time. He should not have said those things to you," he said gently.

Still feeling embarrassed by her meltdown, she began looking around the room in order to avoid eye contact with the old man. A light cooing sound drew her attention to the right side of his desk. Sleeping contently on his perch was a beautiful phoenix. Wiping away her tears with her shirtsleeve, Clara stood from the chair and walked over to the large bird.

"Albus, this bird he was in my dream wasn't he?"

"This is Fawkes, and yes, he was in your dream," the old man said as he gently nudged the sleeping bird to wake. "You can touch him. He loves attention."

"Hey there, boy. I don't know if you know this or not but we have had lots of adventures together," she said as she slowly ran her fingers through his red plumage. Fawkes squawked and cooed happily at the young woman, bringing a smile to her face.

Clara continued to stroke Fawkes' brilliant feathers as she turned her attention back to the old man. "Albus, why Professor Snape?

"What do you mean, dear?" Albus asked, pretending to look at a stack of parchment in front of him.

"You know what I mean. Why was he in my dream and why are you asking him to 'babysit' me?" she asked, crossing both arms in front of her. "I think I have the right to know…don't you?"

"Clara, sometimes things are not always what they seem. In this case, Professor Snape is so much more than what you have seen. Severus has had a very difficult life. Much like yourself, he has experienced great loss," he said with a pained look on his face.

"You mean someone he loved passed away?"

"I will not get into all the details. That is his story to tell. However, I can tell you that Severus has very few people to confide in. It was my hope that you two would simply get along with each other. "

"Ok, but what about all the other teachers around the school and all the other Order members? Isn't he friends with any of those people?" asked Clara as she flopped back into one of the chairs with both legs dangling over the side of the arm.

Albus smiled to see how relaxed and comfortable she was in his presence. "Things are not that simple for Severus. I am really the only person he will remotely confide in. Many people have a hard time trusting him let alone actually being friends with him. He is in a rather difficult position."

"Difficult position? He is basically a chemistry teacher. What is so untrustworthy about that?" she asked causing Albus to let out a little chuckle.

"Clara, do you remember me telling you about the men that attacked you?"

"Yeah, you called them Death Sleepers or something like that," Clara replied, trying hard to recall that part of their conversation.

"Death Eaters," Albus corrected.

"Yeah, I remember they are that psychopath's followers right?"

"Yes, they are a group of very twisted witches and wizards with extreme radical pure blood supremacist ideals. They would like nothing more then to create a new order in which muggle-borns have been eliminated and Lord Voldemort is put in control," Albus explained.

"But what do they have to do with Professor Snape?" questioned Clara fearing that she may not want to know the answer.

"When Severus was just a teenager he unfortunately made some poor choices and fell into the wrong group."

"You mean he became a Death Eater?" said Clara growing increasingly uncomfortable.

"Severus, along with several of his classmates, joined the ranks of the Death Eaters. Unlike so many others, Severus eventually saw the error of his ways and came to me for help. One does not just leave the services of Voldemort so we decided to keep him as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix," continued Albus, purposely leaving out a great deal of information.

"Well, it takes a lot of courage to own up to your mistakes. Besides, you have to be pretty brave to be a spy. If he did all of that, why don't people like him?" she asked.

"Clara, the Death Eaters have done some unspeakable things and now that Voldemort has returned, they continue to wreak havoc on our world. Severus is still in Voldemort's inner circle under my orders and there are many that do not trust him as I do. Living a life as a double agent can be a very lonely existence."

"Yes, I can imagine it is," said Clara as she thought about the lonely man working all alone down in the dungeon for hours at a time. "But that still doesn't explain why you want him to help protect me?"

"Severus is an extremely powerful wizard and is exceedingly loyal. I would trust him with my life so therefore I trust him with yours," he replied sincerely.

Clara nodded to show her understanding but still was not happy with having to face the cranky man again in the future.

"Dear, I am not asking you to do anything but be open minded with it comes to Professor Snape," he said with a smile.

"I will try…but he needs to learn to control his temper," she said bluntly.

Albus chuckled at the young woman as he rose from his desk chair. "Perhaps that is something you can help him with, my dear."

"Not likely. I don't think he will ever want to be in the same room as me again. Apparently, I make things explode," she said with a grin.

"Well, you are not unlike many of his potions students then. They had to evacuate the entire dungeon a few years ago because of an incident involving one of the Gryffindors. I wouldn't be too hard on yourself about it," he said as he motioned Clara to walk with him to the door. "Now, how about some lunch and then a walk around the grounds?"

"As long as I don't have to go back down to the potions lab, anything sounds great to me," she replied as the pair left the office to head back to the Great Hall.


A/N: So Clara knows that Sev is a Death Eater and is beginning to learn a little about why Albus placed him into her dreams. We will keep learning more about Albus' motives as the story continues.

This was my favorite chapter to write so far so I hope you enjoyed it. As always, your reviews mean a lot to me. Let me know what you think about Clara and Sev and any other comments you may have. You are awesome!

Much love!