A few weeks had passed since becoming employed at the school. Summer very quickly passed into the fall, and soon students would be filling Hogwarts' halls and classrooms. Walking through the greenhouses without the aid of a cane, she took a few moments to breathe in the sweet and earthy scent. She couldn't shake the knotty feeling in the bit of her belly, despite attempts to psych herself up for her new position. Seeking out a bench to rest in, she thought back to her experience with Hogwarts so far.

Bits and pieces of her memories returned to her pretty quickly, and discussing them with Dumbledore made her feel on edge. That, and she didn't feel particularly welcome being there. Most of her encounters with the other faculty felt pretty awkward, and attempts to make small talk weren't very successful. The conversations harbored long moments of dry silence, or she just felt as if she were eavesdropping. It wasn't as if her colleagues were going out of their way to make her feel that way of course, however she felt like she didn't belong. Being a Muggle in the magical part of society probably does that. It also made her feel incredibly lonely.

The meetings discussing her memories were professional and eye opening, and Freja made sure to keep a strong looking facade on, but once she was in the safety of the four walls of her domicile, she allowed her tears to flow freely.

The memories that returned to her weren't at all heartwarming. After the passing of her mother, she had the majority of her relationships start to fail, whether they be business or pleasure. She had been fired from a well paying job after snapping at a client, and fell into an intense depression that she sought help for. She had recently gotten a job offer that she was on the way to an interview for, when she had an interaction with a man she shared her breakfast with. The youth that were harassing him, who had pushed him onto the tracks; and her attempts to help the man up. Before the train rounded the bend and collided with them. When she felt like she died.

She had discovered upon sharing that information with Dumbledore that members of the faculty had returned to where they had found her and had found the man she had been describing, deceased. They didn't go into heavy detail about the circumstances, but they had called what had occured as "splinching". Whatever that was, Freja thought it sounded horrific. In an attempt to save this stranger's life, he had tried to save both of theirs, and he ended up dying in the process.

Freja's heart was aching. Gently placing a hand over her heart, she felt the low and dull beats reverberating underneath her chest. "Maybe it would have been better if I had died, too? Why am I always such a bother to people?"

She cast a look down at the dirt path leading to the next greenhouse. Trailing her eyes up further, her attention was drawn to figures tending to some of the herbs . "Pomona, was it? And..."

The dark haired one.

He wasn't being friendly towards her as much as he had been when they first met. He gave her the impression that he was meant to baby-sit her rather than guide her through her, for lack of a better term, orientation of employment. He wasn't thrilled about having to assist her, and he made that pretty clear. After a particularly hostile and angry argument, she had been avoiding him for the better part of a few days. She saw him as antagonizing and rude.

After a brief encounter, where both of their emotions were on edge, he had made the mistake to roll up his sleeves when carrying something. As if he had forgotten, the Dark Mark on his arm was unveiled, and Freja had a more visceral reaction to it than anything he had encountered. Sure, he had been met with dirty looks and prejudice from peers of his, so he was used to it, however...

"Why! How could you follow something so heinous?" Freja balked at his approach, stepping into a defensive stance.

"I never... it's a long story." he shook his head. "I'm not that any-"

"Anymore? Nice reading material you offered! I read all about the crimes you and your friends committed. Joining the fucking Death Eaters, really!?"

Assault. Torture. Murder. All for what? Freja felt a lump in her throat rise and her cheeks flush in anger as she opened her mouth to continue, but she was interrupted.

"You think I participated in all those horrible acts, yet your first course of action is to patronize me? I. Am. Reformed."

"Reformed? Ha!" Freja pressed him even further. "Was it that? Or were you too cowardly to face what you had done?"

It was at that moment she knew she had made a mistake. His nostrils flared and his face went from pale to crimson. "How dare you! You don't even know me! Who are you to assume that I haven't faced any repercussions of the things I did? The things I had to do to survive? It was WAR, Lowes."

Suddenly, he closed the gap between the two and was inches from her face. Pinned between himself and a wall, his arm overhead, she saw his fist was clenched so tightly his knuckles were turning white. His dark eyes had glossed over, and with a deep inhale he whispered;

"Go fuck yourself."

Freja trembled. He was fast, and intimidating. She fought back tears that were daring to bubble over.

"Severus." a firm voice broke their argument. "Leave. Now."

With a signature suction of his teeth, his eyes met hers briefly, and he stormed off, flashing an angry look at Dumbledore. "This was a mistake, letting her stay here."

Speaking with Pomona, Severus suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Quickly scanning his surroundings, his hand slowly reaching for his wand pocket, he paused when he saw the reason for his anxiety. Her. His eyes narrowed, and his lip curled up in disgust. Once Freja had realized he had caught her staring, her cheeks flushed and she quickly averted her gaze, becoming intrigued by the moss growing on the wall.

Bringing his attention back to his herbs, he quietly discussed the properties he was researching in the breed of lavender he was delicately holding. Gently rolling the leaves and flower buds between his fingers, he ignored the prickling on his neck that had returned. He frowned, and lifted his bandaged hand to his nose, and breathed in the floral scent. 'Relax' he thought to himself

Freja thought briefly about whether or not she should apologize. Or, even how she would. If she should! Severus Snape scared the shit out of her.

Fumbling with ideas of how she'd even begin to redeem her lashing out at him, the bells of the school's tower began ringing, signifying noon.

"Well, soon the students will be here, then we'll both be too busy to even cross paths. What a relief." she thought to herself. "Maybe a letter would be best. Telegram. A singing one."

She burst out laughing at the thought. Then covered it up with a cough. She felt two pairs of eyes on her. "That was embarrassing."

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So, I'm trying to speed things up a bit more with this timeline, without overloading a bunch of information at once. Previously I tried too much to establish personalities too quickly with too few characters in a story and only focused on the relationship aspect. I'm also trying to make a back story of my own while including the original, so please let me know what you think; please offer any critique you have! It's much appreciated and thank you for reading.