1- First Impressions

Severus finished marking essays and cast around for something else to do. He had perhaps given out a few more D's than he may have if he had been in a somewhat better mood. And if he had been in that slightly better mood he most likely wouldn't have marked that one essay T. But he wasn't in a good mood, so it couldn't be helped.

Finding nothing that would hold his interest in his rooms, he decided to head to his classroom and start preparing ingredients and instructions for the coming week, hoping that the activity would continue to distract him. Unfortunately, the familiar tasks proved to be too routine and, as he was sorting through doxy wings and belladonna, wondering which little dunderhead had mixed the doxy wings and lacewing flies, his thoughts drifted to Brie again.

He hadn't liked the idea of a Muggle professor and an American Muggle professor at that. He could remember thinking to himself that Albus could have at least stayed in his own country if he was going to bring a Muggle into the school, but no matter what Severus had said and how much he and a handful of other professors objected, nothing would change Albus' mind.

"Severus," Albus said with infuriating calm, after listening to the many arguments he had put forth. "Who better to teach the students what Muggles know and by extension more about Muggles, than a Muggle? The students need a more accurate view about Muggle life. I feel it is very important."

"But an American Muggle, Albus?" he growled, not wanting to give in easily, taking one last stab out of pure stubbornness.

Albus fixed him with a stern look. "This American Muggle woman has been through more than many people, wizard or Muggle, have in their entire lives, Severus. She has an amazing capacity to heal and learn and live. I feel that that is also very important. You could learn something from her, if you let yourself."

Severus lapsed into thoughtful silence.

"Lemon drop?" Albus asked brightly, interrupting his thought pattern. Severus declined.

So, Dr. Gabrielle S. Waters had come to the school, becoming the first Muggle ever to set foot in Hogwarts. Severus wasn't sure what kind of spell or enchantment Albus had put on her to ensure that she could find and see the school, but assumed he had found some way, since she hadn't yet wandered off never to be heard from again.

He'd had little to no interest in the subject she had been brought in to teach and nothing to say to her, so before even laying eyes on Brie, Severus had resolved to avoid her as much as possible. Fate liked to spoil his plans, so of course Albus had seated her between the two of them at mealtimes. Severus could see the logic in it, he supposed. The Muggle had many questions in the initial few weeks of her employment and Albus enjoyed filling her in as well as hearing bits about her life so it made sense that he would keep her close.

Severus had stubbornly stuck to his resolve and studiously ignored her after their initial meeting when Albus had introduced her to the staff. He and the other staff members had been gathered in the professor's meeting room waiting for Albus. They all knew he was bringing the new Muggle professor to this gathering to meet everyone, so as they waited most discussed what they knew about Muggles and some even made bets as to what kinds of questions she was bound to ask and if she would even be able to comprehend the magic that went on there.

"I've seen what Muggles think magic is," Pomona said to Poppy. "Not even close to actual magic really. I saw a Muggle magic show once. The man on stage was pulling rabbits out of hats and flowers out of his sleeve and coins out of peoples ears, and the people watching were oohing and awwing and there were lights flashing and music pumping. It was all so garish and... fake," she decided.

"Well," said the ever positive Poppy, "I'm sure Albus didn't hire an idiot and he has probably filled her in a bit by now anyway. We will just have to see how it goes."

"What do you think she might have been doing before this?" Filius muttered to Minerva.

"Albus didn't say directly, but he did mention something about teaching people about wildlife, so I assume she must have been some sort of Muggle science teacher," Minerva answered. "What I am wondering is, will she even be able to see the school?"

"Oh, I don't expect that would be a problem," Filius waved the question away. "I'm sure if anyone could find or invent a way around that, it's Albus."

Just then the door opened and everyone turned toward it expectantly. Albus stepped into the room followed by the newest professor. "I'm sure everyone is pleased to meet the newest member of the staff, Gabrielle Waters," he said without preamble or flourish. "As we are all well aware, she is a Muggle and comes to us from America. She has a unique and eclectic set of skills and range of knowledge and is here to teach any student who wants a deeper understanding of Muggles, Muggle culture, and Muggle knowledge."

Brie smiled, obviously very nervous and out of place. "Hello everyone, I'm happy to meet you all," she said as she gripped her hands together and twisted her fingers around each other. "I hope we get to know each other better throughout the year..." she trailed off, obviously unsure of what to say next.

Albus came to her rescue then, by asking everyone to take their seats so they could start the staff meeting and talk about the upcoming term. Everyone shot looks over in Brie's direction throughout the meeting and fell silent whenever she asked or answered a question. As the meeting wore on, the professors started to get used to her, but she just seemed to get more and more nervous and jittery. Severus assumed it was because no one was really bothering to hide the fact they were watching her and waiting for something. He doubted anyone really knew what they were waiting for, but the feeling in the air was almost palpable.

Severus studied her from across the table while she wasn't looking. She was small. Not just short - some of the sixth and seventh year students would tower over her - but also almost painfully thin, though she seemed strong. He found himself wondering what would give her that kind of physique.

Her hair was a very dark golden kind of amber and it ran down her back in a riot of curls. Her eyes were dark blue and they crinkled when she smiled. The smile seemed to come often and easily despite her obvious discomfort. He studied her face for a few seconds longer, noticing a scattering of golden freckles across her nose and cheeks before her eyes flicked over to him and he coolly turned his attention back to the subject under discussion.

A few minutes later, she knocked over a glass of water as she nervously reached out for it and jumped up stuttering an embarrassed apology. Without even thinking about it, Severus lifted his wand and vanished the water before it could make its way across the table. Brie froze in place with her mouth open in a small O. She uttered a soft "wow" under her breath. A split second later, she had recovered and regained her seat. There was a different kind of smile on her face and a light in her eye that hadn't been there before.

A few of the professors, Severus included, despite his best efforts to the contrary, were impressed by her mild reaction and quick recovery. She also didn't ask how Severus had done the magic and didn't ask to see more. It seemed to comfort some of them. Severus assumed that they, like he, started to realize that some of their initial discomfort around Brie may have stemmed from expecting her to gawk at them and ask to see more 'tricks'.

Shortly after the water incident Dumbledore wrapped up the meeting and everyone rose to leave while still talking amongst themselves. Severus was almost out the door when Dumbledore called him back. He inwardly cringed and cursed the old wizard, because he knew what was coming next.

"Severus would you mind showing Professor Waters to her rooms? I need to speak to Minerva before she leaves." With that Albus turned and walked toward Minerva leaving both Brie and Severus staring after him.

Brie simply blinked and said with a laugh, "People come and go so quickly here."

Severus, being a wizard and, at that point, having never heard of the Wizard of Oz, thought that it was a rather odd thing to say. He'd learn of the story later, and remember, and it would make sense, but at that point, it just rubbed him the wrong way for some reason. He jerked his head toward the direction of the door and said, "This way, then," a bit more sharply than he meant to.

Brie blinked again at the harshness in his voice and her eyes went cold as she squared her shoulders, lifted her chin slightly, then followed.

As they walked down the halls toward her rooms, Severus noticed that he barely had to shorten his stride or slow his pace. He wondered if she always moved so quickly or if she was keeping up with him out of pride; he had noticed her 'prepare' herself before following him. He also noticed the very slight hitch in her step. It seemed that one of her legs didn't stretch out as far as the other would. It didn't seem to give her any real problems, but it did make her gait a bit odd.

Glancing sideways, he noticed that she was turning her head rapidly in every direction, trying to take everything in all at once, just like the Muggle born first years. With a roll of his eyes, he gave a snort of derision. How were the students to take this person seriously if she was constantly gawping at everything around her?

Even though she'd had a fairly mild reaction, the vanishing spell he'd used earlier had still stopped her in her tracks. He could well imagine what her reaction would be to seeing something bigger. With a scowl he continued to stalk down the halls with the Muggle striding by his side.

She saw him scowling at her and blushed. "I must look ridiculous. Like a tourist or something," she said, not hesitating to look him right in the eye, seemingly daring him to say something about it. "It's just that I only arrived here a few minutes before that meeting and..." she paused for a second, then broke out in a grin, "I've never seen paintings move before!" she exclaimed. "Look! They can move through the frames into other paintings too, that's just so neat! And I swear those coats of armor move too." She eyed the nearest one suspiciously, which had actually just switched it's sword from one hand to the other, before looking back at him and blushing even deeper.

The combination of blushing with an unwavering stare annoyed him further, and his scowl deepened. It clearly started to get to her a little bit. Clearing her throat, she got a hold of herself and said, "I should pay better attention to where you are taking me though. I'd rather not get lost trying to find my way without you." Obviously trying to lighten the mood she continued, "I don't suppose you are in the habit of making middle of the night rescues for silly lost Muggles?"

When he didn't respond, she lapsed into a puzzled silence. With a smirk, he assumed that she was used to people who would melt under that sunny attitude and easy smile, but he wasn't one of them. Let her try the charming Muggle act on the other professors. He was suddenly doubly determined to stay out of this Muggle's way.

"This is it," he said shortly as he stopped in front of a door halfway down a corridor. There was a painting of a troll to one side of the door, which had no knob.

"Is that a troll?" she asked, as she pointed to the painting. The troll grunted and pointed stupidly back at her, causing her to jump a bit, then laugh nervously. "That's going to take some getting used to."

"Yes it is a troll," Severus answered dryly.

After she gave him a dirty look, he watched her survey the door and run her hand over the place where a knob would normally be. She then tried the troll painting, lifting it up and peeking behind. When that didn't work she hesitated a bit, glancing back over her shoulder for a fraction of a second before slowly reaching over to the nearest torch sconce and quickly tugging on it a bit before jerking her arm back down to her side. When nothing happened, she took two steps back, plunked her hands on her hips, cocked her head, and looked for a second longer.

"...So, what am I missing here?" she finally grudgingly asked.

With a sigh, he replied rather nastily, "To enter your rooms you give the troll your password. I assume Dumbledore told you the temporary password?"

"Oh yes! I'd already forgotten with all this new...stuff to absorb. He said that he picked out a password that would be easy for a Muggle to remember. It's kind of odd actually." She looked bemused.

Severus groaned to himself, having a good idea of what Dumbledore's special Muggle password was. "May I venture to guess that the password is lemon drop?" he asked even though he was fairly certain of her answer.

"Yes!" She looked surprised

"If you get to know Albus like most of us do you will find it is not the most subtle of passwords. You should be sure to remember to change it." With that he turned away and said over his shoulder, "I'm sure many of the professors would be glad to help if you should find you need it."

He heard her mutter, "Not you though, I see," as he stalked off.

When he turned the corner, he saw her shake her head, give the troll the password, and enter her rooms. He continued to stalk down to the dungeons, reflecting on what he'd just learned about the Muggle. She seemed totally unremarkable to him and he strengthened his resolve to avoid her.

As Severus finished picking the lacewing flies out of the doxy wings, he made a mental note to give the last class that had worked with these ingredients a little unexpected quiz for his troubles. Having finished the task, he rose and walked out of the classroom. Sometime during his reminiscence he had decided that he was being foolish, just as he had been during that first meeting, when he'd flat out refused to be impressed with Brie, even though she'd shown more insight and ingenuity than he'd expected when she'd been trying to figure out how to open her door.

He and Brie had become good friends this year, hadn't they? She'd understand that he was just a socially awkward sod who didn't always express himself well, wouldn't she? She had before anyway.

Feeling embarrassed all over again for being a git, or a jerk, as Brie might say, he shook it off and went to look for her so he could confess what a jerk he was and hope she wasn't mad at him anymore. He wondered now if she had really gotten angry at him or if she had just seemed angry but he had really hurt her. He thought about it for a moment and decided that he hoped it was the first one. Making her just angry made him feel far less like a git for some reason.

He made himself feel better by taking ten points from a passing Ravenclaw student who was holding a bag of Dungbombs.

She didn't answer when he knocked on her door, so he started toward the entrance hall wondering where she might be. He spotted her as he passed a bank of windows which faced the lake. As he paused to watch for a minute, he found himself glad she was running. It might mean she wouldn't have the energy to be mad anymore. He had reason to know that while it might take quite a bit to get her temper up, once it flared it was formidable. He had only experienced it on one occasion, but it had made an impression.

She had harshly rebuffed him for making snide and disparaging Muggle remarks. He'd never meant them toward her but, she had asked, practically at the top of her lungs, how could he not mean her as well if she was a Muggle? The question had been uncomfortably close to one that Lily had asked him once, when he'd tried to apologize for calling her a Mudblood. It had shaken him when Brie unknowingly drew the comparison, causing him to spend several sleepless nights considering the implications.

Knowing how much it took to anger her, he felt a guilty pang. He still hadn't sorted out all his thoughts and feelings toward her yet, but he knew that he would rather she be his friend than nothing at all. He would figure out his heart and mind eventually. Stepping away from the window, he continued toward the main entrance and out onto the grounds, making his way toward the lake and the best friend he'd had since Lily Evans.

Thinking about Lily made Severus frown. He knew that soon there would be an almost daily reminder of his dearest friend and his oldest enemy running around the castle and that he himself had already played a large role in the shaping of history there. He didn't want to think about the future and his unavoidable role in that particular area right now. He still hadn't sorted out all his thoughts and feelings there yet either.

'One thing at a time,' he thought to himself. There was nothing he could do now about Harry Potter's inevitable arrival at Hogwarts. 'I'll deal with him in the future and Lily is in the past.' It had become such a familiar feeling, he barely registered the fist squeezing at his heart when he thought about Lily. 'Now is for the present.' He slowed his pace spotting Brie again as he started down the hill to the lake.