No one had discovered much about Professor Ashmore by the time they got to her class, but Ron was the first to point out that, "She was looking at Snape an awful lot at breakfast. Maybe she hates him - half the professors do, I bet. Can't be an arrogant git to the students without being an arrogant git to your colleagues. Think they went to school together or something?"

"Great, we've got this class with the Slytherins." Harry rolled his eyes as Malfoy and his goons walked into the classroom, taking seats as far away from the trio as they could. "They're going to pick a fight for sure. Don't we have Divination with them this afternoon too? As if I wasn't already sick of seeing Malfoy's face."

"Probably." Hermione was still on track, turning to the first chapter in her textbook as she talked. She had gotten a couple of chapters ahead, but knew that it would be a slow first day, especially if they had to put up with the Slytherins questioning why they were even there if they were taking Defense Against the Dark Arts too. "She can't be much older than that. Your Mum knew her, right?"

"My mum knows everyone," Ron answered as Professor Ashmore came in from her office, checking the time. "I think they knew each other back when they were in school. Maybe. They at least knew each other during the war. I swear Mum's mentioned her before. I'll try to remember to ask."

The door closed behind Pansy Parkinson, Professor Ashmore giving her a moment to sit down before she spoke. "Good morning, everyone. We're going to start with an easy day today." She walked back and forth as she talked, trying to commit everyone's faces to memory. Surprisingly she didn't give Harry a second glance. He was used to most professors looking at the scar on his forehead before they actually saw him, the rest of the human being. "My name is Hazel Ashmore, Professor Ashmore now. I was president of the Dueling Club while I was a student here, a Ravenclaw Prefect, and eventually Head Girl. And a Chaser for a couple of years, so I'm looking forward to seeing another Hogwarts Quidditch match. I spent several years at the Ministry of Magic in the Auror Office before Professor Dumbledore asked me to come back to Hogwarts. One too many nasty spells straight to the chest makes you rethink your retirement plan," she smiled.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged a glance. This new professor definitely knew what she was talking about. Why hadn't she taken over Defense Against the Dark Arts? Then again, they'd heard good things about the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor from Fred and George. Malfoy raised his hand, speaking before she acknowledged him. "Why aren't you teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts then, if you were such a good Auror?"

"Professor Dumbledore had already hired a wonderful Defense Against the Dark Arts professor by the time he came to recruit me," Hazel explained. "Professor Lupin may not seem like it, but he's spent years studying dark creatures and defensive magic. I'm sure you will enjoy his lessons. Anyone else?"

Looking to the boys, Hermione raised her hand. "I'm sorry if this is too personal a question, but did you know some of our other professors when you were at school? It just... seemed like you knew some of them already, much better than if you'd just walked in."

Hazel smiled, sitting down on her desk. "I assume you mean Professors Snape and Lupin. Sev - Severus and I were friends, as were Remus and I. We've all known each other for a very long time. As for some of the others - I had Professor McGonagall when I was a student. And Professor Binns. He was just as boring back then as he is now."

"Solves your mystery," Hermione whispered to Harry as she sat back in her seat.

"If there are no further questions, let's start with the basics." Hazel waved her wand, a list appearing on the board. "Who can tell me the basic differences between a ghost and a ghoul?"

Even though Hazel and Sev would sneak glances at each other at meals and in the hall, they hardly talked. Remus would visit her classroom on occasion and she would drop by to see the creatures he had in his room. She made friends with the grindylow - as much as one could make friends with a grindylow - and wanted to give it a name, though Remus said that he didn't want to bother naming it since it would be released at the end of the year. Whenever he captured a ghostly creature, he would send her an owl and Hazel would head over to investigate.

The first few weeks went like this, with Sev looking at her longingly at lunch but refusing to seek her out. She would offer him a smile, but whenever she tried to meet him in the halls, he would vanish before she could edge past the groups of students. But things began to change on the night of the first full moon. Remus bade her goodnight in the middle of dinner, heading to his office to securely lock himself up, drink his final Wolfsbane Potion of the week, and ride out the night as a harmless wolf.

Hazel returned to her rooms, intent on grading the first essays she'd set. Muddling through the third-years' papers on banshees, she was growing fairly tired when someone knocked on her door. Inherently suspicious, she drew her wand and cracked the door narrowly. Standing there in the sliver of light was Sev, who immediately apologized for bothering her so late at night. "I'm sure you're buried in work," he said, noticing the pile of parchment behind her, "but would you mind, if, er, just for a moment -"

"Come on in," she smiled, Sev stepping into the room. He looked around, noticing all of the blue and bronze furnishings, the glittering lights that were nonexistent in the Slytherin rooms, and the cozy warm fire. It was a lot to take in. "I wanted to talk to you earlier, but you didn't seem too keen on it after I'd said hello the first day back."

"I was worried… It's been years since we've talked, and I assumed…"

"Well, we can pick things up from here," Hazel resolved, conjuring cups of tea. She settled in on one end of the sofa, gesturing for him to take the other side. "Actually, where do we start? There's so much to tell you, and I want to ask you all sorts of things, about all of the years since we last saw each other, but… Well, why now? I've been back here for nearly a month."

Sev took a sip of his drink, admitting, "I wanted to find you earlier, but half the time Lupin was there, and I had no idea if you'd just close the door on me."

"I would never," she promised. "But you're not answering my question. Why now? Why nearly ten o'clock at night? And in the middle of the week, when we have classes tomorrow?"

There was a long pause before he admitted, "This is the first time there's been a werewolf in the castle since we were students, and tonight's the full moon." His voice was lower than normal, as if he were trying to suppress the emotion behind it. There was no use hiding it. She would've been able to deduce it anyway.

There was no need for him to elaborate, not that he was going to. Both of them knew how worried he was, even with the miraculous invention of the Wolfsbane Potion. There were very few things Severus Snape was afraid of, and ever since their fifth year, werewolves were one of them. Not that he would have told anyone, and not that anyone knew. Even towards Lupin, he acted as if the "werewolf incident" in their fifth year hadn't affected him. The only people who knew the truth were sitting in that room.

"It's going to be fine, Sev," Hazel said, instinctively reaching out to squeeze his hand. Both of them looked down, Hazel withdrawing immediately.

"It's alright," he told her. The reaction had been automatic. He wasn't used to it, not at all. "You… that. But Lupin too. He will theoretically be fine. The Wolfsbane Potion works. I should know," he smiled a bit, "Slughorn and I invented it, after all."

"Sev, that's amazing! Absolutely brilliant," she beamed. The Wolfsbane Potion had been revolutionary, and though it was still incredibly expensive and labor-intensive to make, it helped a lot of people. "I read about it when it was first introduced, and the papers all said it was Damocles Belby who did it, but I always wondered - he was complete rubbish at Potions. It seemed a little too impossible to be true."

The two of them sat up talking until nearly one in the morning. When Sev finally headed back towards the dungeons, he was buoyed by the thought that Hazel was back in his life and that she didn't actually hate him. Both of them understood how things had been back then, how they had allowed their letters to taper off. But now they were back in the castle together.

Hazel cast a passing glance at the papers on her desk, but something else caught her eye. She smiled at the photo Pandora had taken so many years ago of her and Sev in Hogsmeade. It was good to see him again. They'd both changed a lot. War changed people, Auror and Death Eater alike. But it was good to see him again, and good to think that they might be able to be friends again. She'd missed him, and as much as he hated to admit to any emotion whatsoever, he missed her too.