Azalea and Snape returned separately to Hogwarts in time for the start of term. Azalea continued with her lessons in accordance with the existing timetable. She had considered changing potion's teachers to avoid being in Snape's class but if she had done that then people may enquire as to the nature of their falling out. Since nobody had been aware they had ever had a falling in she thought it better to avoid the question altogether. What Snape thought of her continued presence in his class only he knew.

The first day of term was overshadowed by a newspaper article in the Daily Prophet describing Hagrid as a half-giant. Azalea could not understand the prejudice that the wizards showed towards him. People should be judged on their own merits and not by those of their ancestry. She went down to his house the day the article came out to try to speak to him but he wouldn't open the door. The next day she got up earlier than normal to have a morning run; her New Year's resolution having been to take more exercise. The route of that day's run went close to Hagrid's house. She knew he was an early riser so she knocked on the door on her way past but he still didn't answer. For the next couple of weeks she tried his door every time she went by. Finally he came to the door, dressed for work.

"Hagrid, it's great to see you!" she exclaimed when he answered the door. She pressed on with what she had to say without the usual pleasantries, "I want you to know that I don't believe that rubbish that the Daily Prophet printed about you and I'm still your friend."

"I am a half giant, th' Prophet got tha' bit right," he clarified.

"Well, that still doesn't matter to me" Noticing that he was dressed in his usual game keeper clothing she asked, "Are you going back to work today?" she asked.

"Yeh, I am. I gotta check on th' animals in th' forest and I can't let me care of magical creatures' students down can I?" he said as he closed the door to the cottage behind him.

"Good luck then and don't let the bastards grind you down," she said to which he smiled and gave her a bear hug before walking with her whilst he set off for his game keeping duties in the forest.

Up in the owlery turret, Snape was looking in the direction of Hagrid's hut. The sun had been up for less than an hour and in its watery, wintery light he could see the overnight frost still on the grass. Etched into the brittle white grass were a set of footprints which had crushed every stem they had landed on. He was at the owlery ostensibly to check if an owl had arrived with details of his latest order from Dervish and Banges. He had visited the owlery far more often than he really needed to after he noticed that from here he could see anyone who chose to take an early morning run. He was contemplating the patterns the footprints made in the grass when he heard a noise behind him, turning round he saw the headmaster. "Good morning, Severus," Dumbledore greeted him cordially, "you're up early this morning. Are you expecting an owl?"

"I wanted to see if Dervish and Banges had replied to my owl but clearly they haven't. I'll bid you good morning," Snape replied quickly then hurried down the steps.

Dumbledore moved to where Snape had been standing and looked in the same direction where Snape had been gazing with such intent. The order from Dervish and Banges must be important if Snape was checking in the owlery rather than waiting for the breakfast delivery. A movement in the near distance caught Dumbledore's eye and he looked more closely, from the woods emerged a slight female figure in a muggle style running outfit, she was jogging at a brisk pace and turned to wave at someone still concealed within the trees, she headed in the direction of the castle and continued the run until she was back indoors. Dumbledore had recognised her as Miss Bennett and decided that a chat with her about how she was settling in was long overdue.

-oOo-

The next day, being a Saturday, was the start of the instruction in apparation and Azalea arrived in good time. Since it was not raining the lesson was to take place outside, otherwise the Great Hall was used. There was a gaggle of sixth formers waiting expectantly and Azalea greeted the ones she knew, mostly from her exercise classes, although she also recognised the class clowns – the Weasley twins – who were already engaged in sibling rivalry about who would be the first to apparate successfully. Accompanying the four heads of houses was a wizard that Azalea had not seen before, he was a bony colourless looking man, with thin hair, pale eyelashes and translucent skin. Professor McGonagall introduced him as Wilkie Tycross, the apparation instructor from the Ministry of Magic. He briefly thanked Professor McGonagall and then launched into the instructions for the class. He told the students to stand about five feet apart from each other, he waved his wand and a hoop appeared in front of each student. "The secret of apparation is the three Ds" he said, "Destination, Determination, Deliberation." He indicated their hoops, "these are your destination, visualise them, next focus your determination to occupy your destination, thirdly feel your way into nothingness with deliberation. Now after the count of three try it. One, two, three!"

Azalea visualised her hoop and focussed onto it, she felt nothingness cloud her mind and carefully, deliberately thought about moving into the hoop. She felt the same crushing feeling that she had felt when she apparated with Snape to Norway and that caused a minor distraction in her concentration. The nothingness cleared from her mind and she was standing in the hoop but her right arm was lying outside of it. She let out a terrified scream of pain and anguish, in an instant the heads of houses surrounded her, they all pointed their wands at her, there was a puff of purple smoke and her arm was reattached. She was trembling with fright and agitation and seeing a friendly face; she threw her arms around Filius and clung to him for comfort and support. In the background she could hear Tycross saying "That was an example of splinching, or the separation of random body parts. You must remember the three Ds."

Azalea detached herself from Filius and rounded angrily on the instructor, "You knew this might happen! You knew and you didn't warn us. What would happen if my head had become detached? Would I have died?"

Tycross regarded her in a patronising manner, "It's very rare for a head to become detached, it's usually just limbs for beginners."

"Usually? Usually!?" she shouted her voice rising with each word. "And what happens if you apparate into a solid object? What happens if more than one student splinches at the same time – are there enough helpers to fix them back together? And another thing" she added, warming to the subject, "Why don't you do a side by side apparation with the students before you get them doing it alone? At least they'd have an idea what it feels like?" Then she noticed the expressions of the instructor and the heads of houses and said sharply, "Don't any of you dare say this is a typical muggle over reaction!" She could tell that some of them were indeed thinking that, so she hurried on talking specifically in a raised voice to Tycross "Haven't you ever heard of "forewarned is forearmed?"

Snape then intervened, saying sharply, "Miss Bennett that's enough!"

Azalea rounded on him and shouted "Enough? I haven't even got started yet!"

This time Snape was certain he saw a red flash in her eyes. He wasn't the only one. A voice came from where the students had been watching Azalea's melt down, "Hey, Azalea how do you make your eyes flash like that?"

The non-sequitur comment took the wind out of her sails and her anger deflated in an instant. She looked at the speaker, Fred Weasley, and said "What do you mean - eyes flashing?"

"Exactly what I said, your eyes flash real red sparks when you're angry. It's pretty cool."

"Do they? I never knew that but I don't watch myself in the mirror when I'm angry," she said calming down.

Professor McGonagall, picking up on the change of atmosphere, interjected, "Mr Tycross, I believe it would be a good idea if we were to do side by side apparation with each student to help them to understand how it should feel when they apparate correctly."

Tycross agreed to give it a try if only to make the woman who had been splinched stop haranguing him.

Azalea showed a marked reluctance to try a side by side apparition fearing the worst. Fred called over to her, "Come on Azalea, there's no 'arm in trying."

George's immediate riposte was "Go out on a limb Azalea."

To which Fred countered "Go on, it's 'armless."

Jollied out of her fear Azlaea laughed along with them and said, "I'd shoot you both for those puns if I wasn't already unarmed."

The heads of houses and Tycross paired up with students to show them what the sensation of apparating felt like. Azalea had apparated when Snape had taken her to Norway so she held back to be in the last group. Filius volunteered to take her and she was grateful for his calm presence and re-assurance. Once every one had experienced a side by side apparation, the students tried apparating on their own again. Azalea and several other students, including Fred and George, succeeded in reaching their hoops with all their limbs attached. Twycross reluctantly admitted to himself that the idea of pairing up to experience a side by side apparation had been a good one and he wished he'd thought of it years' ago.

-oOo-

Azalea sat in the Headmaster's office which she had not been to since the day after she arrived. It appeared to be unchanged; there were still a lot of objects whose function she didn't know on various surfaces and the portraits of the former head teachers were feigning disinterest in the conversation. Dumbledore offered her a cup of tea which she politely accepted although it wasn't really to her taste.

"Miss Bennett," began Dumbledore, "I've been very remiss in not talking to you much since you've arrived, the Triwizard competition has been demanding my attention. How are you settling in?"

"Remarkably well, considering that I didn't even know the wizard world existed until a few months ago," she replied, "The staff, in particular, have been very accommodating to my rather unusual circumstances and the students seem to be getting used to me as both fellow student and teacher."

"Yes, I understand your exercise class is well attended," he commented.

Azalea gave a short laugh, "Yes it is. Between you, me and the gatepost, I think the main attraction is because the students get to see each other wear close fitting, short exercise clothes, sometimes there's more ogling going on than jogging."

"Hmm, that aside, how are you getting on with your studies, most of the teachers tell me you pick things up quickly?" he asked her.

"Yes, I do," she agreed "I only have to be told a spell once and I can remember it. It's as if I have an eidetic memory for magic but I've never had that for anything else, it would have been helpful when I was studying for exams in the past. I suppose," she mused, "it might be connected to the colours."

"Colours?" Dumbledore asked curiously, "what colours?

"You know, the colour of magic. How each spell has its own distinctive range of colours and enchanted objects glow. I've often wondered why the teachers don't use the colours to help explain the spell to the students," she said in a matter of fact way, before taking a sip of her tea.

Dumbledore stared at her with incredulity. "That would be because most people can't see the colours. It's extremely rare. I've lived a long time and I've only ever come across one other person who could see the colours," he told her.

"Does that mean I'm doubly weird?" she asked somewhat bitterly, "I've got magical synaesthesia as well as an eidetic memory for spells."

"Not weird," he replied gently, "unique."

"Who's the other person you know who could see the colours?" she enquired.

"My sister, Ariana" he responded with a sad note to his voice.

"Can I talk to her about it?" Azalea asked eagerly, "it would be helpful to share experiences."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, she died when she was young. I wish I'd taken her seriously about seeing the colours. If I'm honest I never really believed her, she was ill and prone to flights of fancy," he explained.

Azalea had the impression that there was more to his sister's story but she didn't want to pry into other people's family history. However, she had no such qualms about raising her concerns about her own family business. "Professor, you must have heard by now that Harry Potter is my cousin."

Dumbledore noted her change of direction and had a feeling he knew where this was leading, "Yes, I am aware of that," he confirmed cautiously.

He was right, she exploded into a passionate outpouring. "And it was you who left him with Petunia and Vernon when he was a baby. Why did you do that? My mother and I would have looked after him in an instant. He would have been my little brother and his life would have been very different, he would have been loved and cherished and fed and clothed decently. Did you even know that Lily had an aunt and a cousin? Or even James' family – surely they would have been a better choice that Petunia and Vernon? Do you know Petunia and Vernon told me Harry was dead in the car crash with his parents? They wouldn't speak to me or let me into the house and told me never to contact them again. If I'd known they had Harry I'd have moved heaven and earth to get him away from them."

Dumbledore waited until she had finished, "I had my reasons," he said, "Harry had to stay with Petunia and that was the decision I made."

"What reasons could possibly be good enough to subject a child to years of neglect?" she countered.

"Miss Bennett," he said sharply, "I don't intend to divulge my thinking on the matter to you. You must accept that what I did was in the best interest of Harry's safety."

"Unlike your staff and students, I don't accept things "just because you say so"," she said sarcastically, "what you did was wrong."

He sighed and responded in determined voice, "What is done is done. This matter is now closed and is not for discussion."

Azalea knew she would get no more from him but she was still fired up with a sense of injustice, so she left that subject and changed tack. "All right, if that matter is closed then I'll air my concerns about another one – sorting. Why do you sort the children into houses based upon their character traits? Surely you're labelling them at too young an age, people change, especially developing young minds. Sorting them in this way can re-enforce negative characteristics as well as positive ones. There must be a better way."

Dumbledore was unused to people questioning his reasons for doing things and he still hadn't yet broached the subject he really wanted to talk to her about so he said in a conciliatory tone, "You make some good points, Miss Bennett, I'll take it under advisement."

Azalea knew when she was being given the brush off but she had made her point and never really expected him to change anything straight away. She hoped he really would think about it.

Dumbledore returned to the earlier topic of conversation, "How are your studies going, do you get on well with the teachers and students?"

"Some more than others, just like anywhere," she answered.

"You seem on particularly good terms with Filius and Charity," he commented blandly.

"And Hagrid," she supplied, "he's a drinking buddy with Filius and me. Charity's not so keen on the Three Broomsticks but we get together a lot to talk about the lesson plans, which inevitably leads onto other things."

"What about Professor Snape, do you get on well with him?" asked Dumbledore, watching her carefully to see her reaction to his question.

"I don't have much to do with him outside of the potions lesson" she replied with no detectable reaction that Dumbledore could see, "but I think he's a square peg in a round hole."

"What do you mean?"

"He's a capable teacher but he clearly dislikes teaching. I wonder why he stays here?" she said looking straight at Dumbledore with a bland expression on her face, "I'm sure he'd be better off in the commercial sector, inventing or improving potions for mass production."

"Have you suggested it to him?" he enquired.

"I don't think he'd take career advice from a student," she replied caustically.

"No indeed not. I'm sure if he were unhappy in his job then he wouldn't stay," Dumbledore commented.

Although the conversation about Snape had been short, Dumbledore could see no reaction from her which indicated anything other than a student's natural curiosity about a teacher. He knew himself to be good at reading people's body language so he concluded that if there was any attraction between Miss Bennett and Snape it would appear to be only on Snape's part. He should have a few words with Snape to remind him of his priorities and his commitment to the mission.

-oOo-

Snape sat in Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore offered him a cup of tea which he politely accepted. It didn't taste as good as the way he now drank it. Snape was in the Headmaster's office for one of his "little chats". Snape cynically believed that Dumbledore liked to speak to him from time to time to remind him of the terms of their agreement, made over a decade ago, which was that Dumbledore would keep him out of Azkaban, provided that Snape continued to work at Hogwarts to protect Potter and, when the time came, to spy on Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

Dumbledore started the conversation in his genial way, "How are you getting on with Karkaroff and the Durmstrang boys? It must be nice to meet up with old friends."

Snape replied lazily, "He's hardly an old friend, he's panicking and keeps seeking my re-assurance about past events and rumours that the Dark Lord is rising."

Dumbledore leaned forwards and spoke earnestly, "You know I believe these rumours are true that Voldemort is rising. I worry about Harry's safety. You must be alert to any danger, you owe it to Lily."

"It doesn't help me to protect him when he is in the Triwizard competition. Headmaster, how could you have let him enter?" he snapped at Dumbledore.

"I can assure you I had nothing to do with it." Seeing that Snape was about to interrupt him, Dumbledore added assertively, "Neither did Harry. Someone else put his name in and I can only believe it was the work of Voldemort or a Death Eater."

"How can I look out for him when he's competing?" Snape complained, "You know that the rules of the game forbid any outside help when he's actually doing the task."

"He's perfectly safe from Voldemort while he's on the course. The game arena is warded and protected – the best wizards in the Ministry of Magic have been working on it," Dumbledore assured him.

"I hope you're right," Snape said, not completely convinced.

Dumbledore changed the subject, "I spoke to Miss Bennett the other day, just to see how she was settling in."

"That must have been a delight," Snape responded sarcastically.

"Indeed it was, she's a charming young woman, although very forthright in her views. She thought you were in the wrong job. "A square peg in a round hole" were her exact words. I do like some of these muggle expressions. Of course, she doesn't know your history. How are you getting along with her? You remember on the first day she came I said you should find out all you can about her," Dumbledore asked conversationally.

"I found out she was Potter's cousin. I was surprised you didn't know that already," Snape replied.

"I can't know everything, Severus. Is there anything else you can tell me about her?" Dumbledore studied Snape's reaction to the question.

Snapes first thoughts were; she can make perfect potions with a wave of her hand; she can silence crowds with a shout; she can do magic without a wand; she sees the colour in magic; she learns a spell perfectly first time; she can fly without a broom; she is the most remarkable witch I've ever met - but she is not Lily.

After a pause which went on longer than it should have, Snape finally answered, "No, nothing. She's an able student, she studies a lot, her handwriting is abysmal, she gets on well with the other students and she's particularly friendly with Granger. You should ask Filius and Charity about her, she's on better terms with them than she is with me." He stopped talking and against his better judgement he added, "Why are you interested in her?"

"You know I'm interested in all my staff and students," Dumbledore explained. He picked up a document from his desk and started to study it. Snape knew this was to signify that the interview was at an end. Dumbledore spoke again without taking his eyes from the document which now had his attention, "Oh, and Severus, you no longer have to find out all you can about her, I'll speak to Filius and Charity as you suggest." As Snape rose to leave Dumbledore lifted his eyes from the document and remarked, "Lily would have been so grateful to you for looking out for her son and wouldn't want you distracted from your purpose."

Snape turned and faced Dumbldore, "I'm never distracted where Lily is concerned," he said fiercely.

"That's good to hear. You know you have my complete confidence and trust in this matter, don't you Severus?" Dumbledore said calmly, his blue eyes looking serenely at Snape.

"Yes Headmaster, I know it. Now please excuse me I have work to do." Snape retreated to the door and left the room.

Although Snape's face had betrayed no emotion that Dumbledore could discern when he was talking about Azalea, the pause before he had replied "no, nothing" did not go unnoticed by the headmaster. Dumbledore remained seated with a vague feeling of unease that Snape may yet forget where his priorities lay.