Disclaimer: The Harry Potter Universe is not owned by me but by the lovely J.K Rowling. I wish I was as brilliant as her. In that regards, this fanfic is 100% original and something that I dreamt one night. I just added onto it as I went along.

AN: Hey, there guys! I hope you enjoy this DAY EARLY chapter. It is the longest one yet with a little twist. Again, thank you all for commenting, reviews, asking questions in Pms, and giving feedback! I really appreciate it and use all your suggestions to get even better! Props again to my co-writer BeautiflDisastar for just being awesome! Again, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

This Chapter is Dedicated to emeraldmarie, Lost-In-The-Search-For-Love, Katey Scholz, Dragoness8982, Gnarley, GodzillaSquatch91, Shettie, DemonicAngel97, Mckenzie118, and Sackiara. Thank you all for being with me for over a month! You are all awesome and I couldn't do this without your support! Woooo! Special dedication to nayara. aberer (your name disappears if I don't space it, SORRY) for being our 40th subscriber! We didn't get to 40 subscribers until Chapter 12 on the last version! I am psyched! THANK YOU!

Chapter 9

A few weeks later, Natalia was in the full swing of things. She was helping grade essays and homework and she was studying simpler potions after she started stewing the lacewing flies. She was going to be gathering them that afternoon and then harvest the fluxweed under the full moon that was that night. She was increasingly excited as the day went on. She could finally show Severus her skills as a potioneer. So far she had only done potions that a fifth year and above could do. Polyjuice, on the other hand, was extremely advanced because many things could go wrong in an instant.

She had heard from Severus in a rare moment of gossip that a second year was able to brew the Polyjuice Potion just a couple of years previous. Natalia was astounded and inquired on which student accomplished that feat.

"An insufferable know-it-all. It was reckless and disastrous seeing as she accidentally added the hair of a cat, but two other students transformed successfully due to her brewing," he had told her. When she realized that she would get nothing else from him, she continued on with her work.

She bought a brand new copper cauldron just for brewing the polyjuice when she first got the private order. She made sure to bring it to the school so that it would lessen the time to brew it even more.

She had all of her ingredients set out in the back of the class so they would be all ready for when Master Snape was ready for her to brew. She made sure that her cauldron was spotless, that no particles could interfere with her potion. The closer it got time to brew, the more nervous with excitement she was. To pass the time she got the lacewing flies out and let them set. Having been brewed for three weeks, they looked slimy. They were green in color normally, but after stewing, they looked like a pale, seafoam green color. It was almost translucent. She grimaced as she extracted the flies from the brew and plopped them on a strainer above a small bowl to dry.

Classes that day went by smoothly, nothing too out of the ordinary. One Gryffindor boy, Neville Longbottom, had gotten house points taken away for adding an ingredient to his Wiggenweld Potion that, if drunk, would cause the opposite effect of making someone feel better. It wasn't as extreme as the Draught of Living Death, but the person that drank it would be extremely uncomfortable. Natalia looked sad for Neville. His face looked determined as he focused more intently as to not make another mistake. He seemed like a smart young man, and he could have potential, he just needed more guidance. Natalia smiled and decided to help him when she could.

The class was dismissed and, as the last class of the day, Severus started to close the potions ingredient closet and cleaning up whatever was left from the students. When he was finished he looked over at Natalia as she was organizing her ingredients for the eighth time that class. Her brow was furrowed as she counted the flies, making sure she had enough, when actually, by his count, she had too many. He stood leaning on his desk as he read a scroll. While he was reading, he was looking under his curtain of hair to catch glimpses of the young woman. He had made a habit of this as he wasn't able to obviously look at her out of propriety. It was the little things.

The more he saw of how she worked, he realized that she had indeed improved greatly in her skill for potions. She was no longer a dunderheaded student or a slacker. She was precise, efficient, and excited to work. One day, she may even surpass his place as the greatest potion master alive, with proper guidance, of course. She had the potential. The only thing she was really lacking in was the confidence. With some of the potions, he brewed she wouldn't have the time to recount her ingredients repeatedly.

Severus thought upon the previous day's events. He had felt a jolt of electricity every time they had touched. He wondered what that was about. He had only heard of one such occurrence but it hadn't happened more than once. Lily Evans and James Potter. Lily had confided in him that the first time she had touched James accidentally, a jolt of electricity had gone through her. Severus had thought it was just static electricity but now he wasn't so sure. However, that had only been once and with Natalia it had occurred each time they touched. He would have to look into this more.

When he was done pretending to read the scroll in his hand he stood. "Ms. Rook," he suddenly said.

"Yes, Master?" Natalia responded, turning.

"What is the next step in the potion you are brewing?" Severus asked.

"Harvesting the fluxweed. I plan on doing that tonight under the full moon," Natalia explained.

"Very well. When you have finished with the fluxweed you may return here so you can add it while it still has the potent magical properties of being freshly picked," Severus told her.

In reality, he couldn't care less about the fluxweed. He was becoming used to her presence in his life and finding that he quite enjoyed her being around. He found himself wanting to be in her presence more often than not. She made him feel… content… at peace, when she was around. Not that he would ever admit this to her. He refused to put himself in the position of being rejected and hurt as he had with Lily. He had promised himself this years ago.

Natalia gathered all of her things up. "Is there anything else you need me to do while I'm here, Master?" she asked.

"No, Ms. Rook. You are free to go. I will see you after you collect the fluxweed tonight," Severus hurriedly replied.

Natalia nodded and left the dungeons. There was still a few hours before dark. Natalia figured she would head to The Leaky Caldron and grab some food before she collected the fluxweed. She was starving. Helping the students, making potions and grading papers made her so busy she hadn't even realized that she had skipped lunch and missed most of the dinner. She ordered herself a meal and ate in silence, lost in her own, deep thoughts.

When she finished her meal, she paid Tom and then left. She was feeling rather sated. She apparated home to feed her familiar and get cleaned up. She fed her hungry little cat it's favorite food and jumped into the shower. After getting a shower she headed back to Hogwarts Grounds. Standing on the Grand Hill she whispered Lumos so she could identify the weed correctly and didn't end up going back to Master Snape with a few handfuls of grass. How embarrassing would that be? Her cheeks flushed at the very thought.

Natalia looked at the ground while wandering the hill. She saw a lot of fluxweed but a majority of it had been trampled from people apparating in and out on the hill. She was just about to give up when she spotted a whole section of the weed she had somehow missed. This fluxweed was healthy and not trampled. She walked over to that area of the hill and artfully picked about twenty plants, being sure to keep the roots attached. Natalia figured if she had too much she could give Pomona a few plants to grow in her greenhouses for the students to study.

When she thought that she had enough to do what she needed, she walked back to the potions classroom. With it being so late, she knocked on the door. A bellowed out enter was her answer and she did so. She went directly to her brewing area and after cleaning the roots of all dirt, placed the last ingredient on the table. "Should I start the brew now Master?" she asked simply. He nodded, reading over an essay he hadn't gotten to earlier that day. While he did that, she began.

She started by filling her pristine copper cauldron with water and lit a fire to burn low. She then got 3 measures of scruples from the fluxweed and added that to the water. The liquid started to shimmer almost immediately as the magic from the moon was being extracted from the weed. She let that stew for 5 minutes before she added two bundles of knotgrass and then stirred it three times, clockwise. Once that was done, she waved her wand over the cauldron and put a stasis and timer charm over the brewing potion as it cooked for an hour.

During the hour wait, Natalia was reading up on some healing potions that she wanted to try in her free time. She also read on some muggle ways to bandage, clean and heals wounds in a hurry. She thought that may be useful if she was indeed going to help in this Order of the Phoenix that the Headmaster had talked about. He seemed adamant about needing a healer, and she wanted to help as much as she could. Even if it was just to fight against Death Eaters and not He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself. Muggle ways of healing could be useful in cases where members were not able to use magic openly.

After a bit, seeing as she had about 5 minutes left on her magical timer before she needed to do the next step, she started prepping more. She added two scoops of the slightly drier lacewing flies to a mortar and crushed them into a smooth paste. When she was done with that, it was time to continue the brewing. She added four leeches to the now bubbling cauldron, then added two measures of the pasty lacewing flies. She turned up the heat slightly for about 30 seconds to get the new ingredients incorporated into the brew.

When the time was up, she added three measures of the boomslang skin, followed by one measure of bicorn horn which she had already crushed into a powder. She turned up the heat with a silent spell and heated the cauldron for a quick 20 seconds. She set another stasis and tempus charm on the cauldron and started to clean up a bit. She still had some work to do, but for now, the current polyjuice brew needed to cook and set for 18 hours. She looked up at Severus when she was done cleaning up the ingredients she no longer needed and waited patiently. Severus was reading a book and was engrossed so much so that she had to clear her throat twice to get his attention.

He looked up quickly, and seeing that she was standing before him, nearly at attention, he looked behind her towards her cauldron. "Do you need assistance, ?" he asked silkily.

She just shook her head. "No, master. We have come to a point where it needs to brew for the 18 hours before we can continue. I was just wanting to let you know so that we could move to something else or head to bed. To our own beds, I mean." She blushed at her slip and looked towards the ground. Severus smirked a moment before he heard his classroom door open. He stood when he saw the Headmaster walk in.

"Albus. What do I owe this interruption to?" he asked, slightly annoyed. His old friend always had the worst timing to come into a room.

"Severus, my boy! I am sorry to interrupt. I was hoping to catch Ms. Rook before she left to go home for the day. While I have you both here, I suppose it would behoove me to bring this up to the both of you."

Severus just scowled. "What is it then, Albus?"

Dumbledore smiled, then looked to Natalia, whose quizzical face was obviously confused. "Ms. Rook. I would like to offer you your own private chambers here, in the castle. I think that it would be most beneficial to your apprenticeship as you wouldn't have to commute so much, as well as, to be honest, it is a bit selfish of me, But I was hoping we could talk more of the Order and see where you stood on that. If you accepted, this would be a safe place for you to live. Along with that lovely feline familiar."

Natalia looks shocked between the two men. Not knowing what to say, she just looked frazzled and started staring at the floor. "Urmh."

"Ah. I'm sorry my dear girl. I caught you by surprise. I apologize. I just thought that it would be convenient and safer for you here. You could decorate the room as you pleased, you would get your own passworded portrait, and a house elf would be assigned to help you as you needed it. If you so wished, of course," Dumbledore explained.

Severus looked at him suspiciously. Never in his history of knowing the headmaster has he invited a non-staff to live inside the castle walls unless they were the spouse of the staff. It was unheard of. Severus looked over to Natalia. "Speak girl. You were not struck dumb in the few moments since the headmaster's arrival, were you?"

That seemed to knock Natalia out of her own thoughts and she smiled shyly up at the headmaster. "Thank you for your offer, Headmaster. I will accept. When shall I move my things over?" she asked quietly, casting a side glance at Severus to see how he reacted with her answer. His face was unreadable. She looked back to Dumbledore.

"You can start moving your belongings later tonight if you wish. That way it will not interfere with your work with Severus, here. I know his time is in high demand," Dumbledore said with a smile and a happy twinkle in his eyes. Natalia nodded and looked to Severus again.

"If it pleases you, master? The potion needs to stew for 17 more hours. I could get my belongings and come back and still rest in time for tomorrow's first class," she said quickly, suddenly excited.

She always felt more at home at the castle then anywhere else. When her mother died in Natalia's 7th year at Hogwarts, she felt very alone. Her father was never in the picture and she didn't have any aunts or uncles that she knew of. Since she was of age when she graduated, she moved into a small flat near Diagon Alley and immediately started in St. Mungo's as an intern there. She earned money by doing the private orders of potions after a year and she saved the rest of her modest inheritance. Now that she had a chance to come back, she was suddenly feeling nostalgic and excited. She sincerely hoped that Severus would agree.

Severus was just scowling. He had a feeling that this offer for her to stay at the school was a bit more than just convenience, but he shrugged and said, "Very well. I cannot argue that it would be more convenient and less commute back and forth for lessons. Though, Albus, where will she be staying?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled again. "Why, Severus. She will stay in the dungeons, near her old Common Room. We can either give her a portrait or let her have the same entrance option as the common room if it pleases her," he said turning back to Natalia. She giggled at the option. The way into Hufflepuff's common room was through tapping a certain barrel near the kitchens a certain number of times. If you hit the wrong barrel, or you tapped the wrong number of times, you were magically drenched with vinegar. It was the only house that had a magical defense to intruders besides a portrait refusing someone entry.

Natalia smiled giddily thinking of her options. "I think a portrait would be fine, Headmaster. Just one that requires a password if you don't mind. I do enjoy my privacy."

"Of course, my girl. You are similar to Severus in that respect. Now then, I will get that prepared for you as you pack. Severus, since she will also be in the Dungeons, does that work for you?" Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling overtime. It was almost like stars were in his pupils making them shimmer and shine in mischief. Severus frowned but nodded.

"It is fine, Albus. Thank you. I am sure Ms. Rook is very grateful." Natalia suddenly snapped her attention to them again. She was lost in thought on how to get all of her things packed. She didn't have much, but there were some things of her mother's that she wanted to make sure that she brought. She looked up at the Headmaster and smiled.

"Yes, sir. I am extremely grateful. Thank you so much for this opportunity."

Dumbledore nodded his head and snapped his fingers. With a small pop, a female house elf appeared. She had exceptionally long batlike ears, giant, shiny green eyes, and a petite frame. She had on a miraculously clean outfit for being a house elf which consisted of a little elf sized skirt and blouse. She bowed when she spotted Dumbledore. "Master Dumbledore sir called for Gabby, sir. What can Gabby do for Master Dumbledore, sir?" the house elf rambled.

"Gabby, this is Ms. Rook. She is going to be living here from now on. I would very much like it if you could attend to all of her needs while she is here at Hogwarts," Dumbledore told the elf.

"Of course, master Dumbledore, sir. It would please Gabby very much to serve Mistress Rook, sir." The house elf bowed again only this time directed at Natalia.

"As I understand it Gabby, Ms. Rook is in need of assistance. She will be packing her belongings to move over to a room by the Hufflepuff common room. Would it please you to assist her?" He asked Gabby with that suspicious twinkle in his eyes.

"Oh, Master Dumbledore, Sir." Gabby gushed. "It would give Gabby no higher pleasure than to helps Mistress Rook move to Hogwarts, sir."

"So be it." Dumbledore smiled down at the little elf. A soft pop and the house elf was gone. He turned to Natalia. "Ms. Rook, I believe you are familiar with house elves since you did intern at St. Mungo's, but may I remind you that all you have to do is snap your fingers or call Gabby's name and she will appear anywhere you are to assist you. However, I do expect you to treat her with kindness," he said holding up a hand to stop her before she could protest.

"I don't believe you would treat her with an ill will but it is necessary that I say this as some of our house elves previous owners were not as kind," Dumbledore explained. "We at Hogwarts treat our house elves with kindness and do not dole out punishments willy nilly. Should you feel it necessary that Gabby be punished for wrongdoing I would appreciate it if you came to me first," Dumbledore said with a very serious look on his face.

Natalia nodded at the headmaster. "I would never dream of punishing a living creature for making a mistake, sir. I will treat her with all the kindness I can," Natalia told the headmaster in all seriousness.

He nodded back to her. "Very good. In that case, she is all yours. When she is not helping you, she will still be working at Hogwarts, but otherwise, she will help whenever she can. With that taken care of, I will let you be and we can talk more tomorrow when you have time. There is much to discuss." With that, he smiled kindly, turned and made his way out of the room.

Natalia looked frozen for a moment not sure what to do from there.

"Gabby is probably at your cottage now, Ms. Rook. You may want to go see that she packs everything as you want it. I will see you in the morning."

Natalia nodded and said "Yes, master. Until tomorrow. Good night." With that, she too left and Severus was left to his own thoughts. He went to his personal chambers and got ready for bed. As it was getting late, he ordered food while he showered and it was on his bedside table under a stasis charm when he got out. He ate, grabbed a book, laid in bed and read until he was tired enough to sleep.

Instead of getting tired to sleep though, all he could think of was his apprentice. Dumbledore just had to have let her come to the castle to live. She would be under the same roof as him. Nearly neighbors as the dungeons where the potions classroom was were almost directly next to the kitchens where her room would be nearby. A short walk and he would be at her door. A quick knock and he could be in her room. A few words and she would be in his arms. Her lips on his, sighing happily at the warmth of his body against hers as they lay together in bed…

Severus shook himself out of his daydream and fidgeted uncomfortably at a certain dilemma. He growled out in frustration and went to his bathroom to take a cold shower. He didn't think he would be going to bed anytime soon at all.

/

It wasn't long after Natalia bid Master Snape good night that she was within the apparating zone. She quickly apparated back to her flat. She was so preoccupied with her thought of how everything should be packed and how long it was going to take her to clean the place that she almost missed the fact that her flat was nearly empty. The small flat was spotless. Dust and cobwebs in the corners were gone, dust bunnies from under her bed had disappeared. Any furniture that wouldn't be going with her to Hogwarts was covered carefully with sheets to protect it while she was away. Everything was spotless and Natalia was amazed.

"Gabby really has outdone herself," Natalia murmured to herself. She was a little irritated that everything had been done for her as there were certain things that she didn't want to be misplaced but she couldn't fault the little elf for following what she was sure were Dumbledore's orders. Natalia took a quick walk through her flat and seeing that everything was spotless, and there really was nothing left for her to do here, apparated to the grand hill.

Once inside the castle, she spotted Dumbledore waiting for her. Natalia walked up to him, noting that he was smiling. "Done packing so soon, ?" he asked innocently.

"As Gabby has packed nearly my entire cottage, I would say so." Natalia laughed.

Dumbledore chuckled with his eyes twinkling. "Let me show you to your room. We need to set the portrait password to your liking," he told her.

"Of course, headmaster," Natalia replied, following after him. Once they had reached the Hufflepuff common room entrance, they took a quick left and they stood before a large portrait of a petite woman wearing healer robes. The background of the painting was what looked like an office. There was a cozy chair behind a large desk which was cluttered with miscellaneous objects. A warm looking fire was going in the fireplace just beyond the desk.

"Natalia, meet Healer Gladys. She was an exceptional healer in her time," Dumbledore said as he introduced her to Healer Gladys. "Now for setting the password you need to think of a password that you would like and hold that thought in your mind, then you need to take your wand, tap the portrait three times, and say Password Protectus," the headmaster explained.

Natalia nodded. She tried thinking like a student to make sure she picked something a student wouldn't easily guess. But then only thought that came to mind was Severus Snape. So, she decided to use that as her password. Before she could set her password however Headmaster Dumbledore interrupted her.

"Ms. Rook. It is time I take my leave. I still have many important things to do before tomorrow," and with that, he quickly took his leave. Natalia was relieved that he had left because she really hadn't wanted to explain her choice of password to him. Holding the thought Severus Snape in her mind she tapped the portrait three times as she had been directed, she then muttered the spell she'd been told. "Password Protectus" The portrait then began to glow a soft gold and then it faded away.

"Password?" Healer Gladys asked.

"Severus Snape," Natalia told her quietly and with that, the portrait of Healer Gladys swung open to review an apartment style room. The living room area was yellow with black trim, the Hufflepuff house colors, with a comfortable looking chair by the fireplace. Her bookcase had been set in this room, already filled with her book collection, and a small table stood beside it. Natalia walked through to the first door and opened it. She gasped. Gabby had set everything up just the way her bedroom had been back at the cottage.

Even Freya was there, lying curled up on Natalia's bed taking a little cat nap. She looked around the room taking in the small differences here and there. The paint for one, was a soft royal purple, giving the space a more relaxed vibe than the light blue paint in her bedroom of the cottage had given. However, it wasn't until she looked at her mirrored dresser that she noticed the biggest difference. Laid out on the dresser were items she had gotten from her mother. Natalia walked over and gingerly touched each one. There was a total of three items; A locket that, when opened, had a picture of her mother and her inside it, her mother's favorite opal ring, and a diary.

Natalia picked up the locket and held it firmly in her hand, trying to draw any comfort from the bauble. She grabbed the diary as well and walked back into the living room, sat down into the armchair by the fire, and looked at the items in her hand. She took the locket, opened it and pressed it against the diary. The diary instantly opened as the locket was spelled to be the key. Inside, the diary had entries over her mother's life, but there were also letters upon letters from her mom. Upon seeing her mother's handwriting Natalia started to tear up. She missed her mother so much. Natalia absentmindedly ran her fingers over the diary page, feeling the indents where her mother had pressed her quill to the page. Feeling the need to hear her mom's voice she started to read the first page of the diary, As she read the diary, her mom's voice came to her mind hearing the words she had once written.

My dearest Natalia, she read; her mother's voice speaking the words that she was reading into her mind.

Another AN: Hey, guys. I just wanted to be clear with you. Dumbledore doesn't think that Nat would hurt the lovely miss Gabby. It is just that he wanted to be clear that nothing bad would happen to the elves while they were in his care. They came from terrible homes, many of them beaten and abused for no reason at all besides spite. He just wanted to make sure that no matter what happened, that he was taking care of the elves in his care. Just thought I would clear that all up for you! See you next chapter.

P.S. Sorry for the cliffhanger. It was BeautiflDisastar's idea. I just happened to love it so I kept it!