Chapter Four

Potions and Perceptions

Having stopped in the restroom to re-braid her hair and cool her face with water, Jennifer decided she was ready to face the masses. Minerva waited so that they could walk in together, receiving smiles and welcomes from some of the staff waiting there. Dumbledore was not there, having been called away on business, but Severus was and he seemed quite surprised to see her. Jennifer couldn't help but wonder what he had heard from the Slytherin boys. She took the same seat between Severus and Rolanda, smiling warmly towards the students.

"Good, you're here! I'm glad to see you," Rolanda said cheerfully. "I'm starved. Teaching first year flying lessons always makes me hungry, but we should be starting soon."

As if on cue, Minerva stood and announced that she had no announcements, then sat back down again as dinner was served. Looking down, Jennifer found a wonderful bowl of bouillabaisse and wondered whom she should be thanking at that moment. As she cracked into a mussel, she couldn't help but notice that most of the students had opted for the peppercorn steak instead and she chuckled softly.

"How did your day go?" Rolanda asked politely.

"Oh it was positively horren… fine, fine, it was fine." Jennifer said, quickly amending what she was going to say when she noticed Severus watching her. "Actually, I really enjoyed the first three classes, especially the fifth years. The first and seventh years were a bit more… challenging."

"Yes, I heard about that row in first year, but I also heard you handled it very well! They'll think twice about starting trouble again in your class," Rolanda said encouragingly with an enthusiastic nod towards Jennifer.

"Yes, it does appear that our young new professor does have some degree of mettle after all," Severus decided with a subtle smirk.

Jennifer paused before answering. What, was that an admission? From Severus Snape? Was that allowed, she wondered jokingly to herself. She then noticed that Minerva, sitting on the other side of the empty chair next to Rolanda, was watching the conversation with interest. Jennifer finally turned to gaze at Severus, who looked back at her with an almost imperceptible look of amusement.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, then turned back to her stew with every intention of finishing it.

After dinner, Jennifer walked into her classroom with her arms folded, lost in thought. She survived the first day, but things had not gone as well as she would have liked. She sighed softly, wondering how she was going to keep a step ahead of her most troublesome students and still be able to function effectively at her other duties, such as screening incoming visitors. Yes, it was true the latter was something that came more natural to her. If only every class had been as easy as her first one, she thought. Of course, she had known from the beginning there were always troublemakers in every school, but some of the students at Hogwarts were more probing and malicious than she had faced in the past.

She couldn't help but wonder if the students confronting her about her father didn't have ties to You-Know-Who; they might have been testing her. If so, she thought, she should watch her back. It hadn't ever occurred to her before that any students might have any knowledge about something that had happened fifteen years ago.

The rustle of robes behind her alerted her to the fact that she was not alone. She looked up to see Severus leaning against the door, watching her.

"Planning on working late, Professor Craw?" he asked, his blank expression giving no clue to what he was thinking.

"Yes, at least until I start to get tired," Jennifer shrugged, making a play at straightening the papers on her desk.

"Hm. Let me go to my office and make you a sedative," he decided.

"Uh, that's okay, I'll just…."

"It's no trouble. I was going to make one for myself anyway," Severus admitted. "Besides, we tend to take care of our staff here, no matter how wet behind the ears they are."

Jennifer wasn't about to fall for that sort of bait again. She followed him out the door, closing it behind them.

"Can't you say anything without a taunt in it?" she asked bluntly, glancing about to make certain that there were no students still around.

"Not quite sure," he replied, as solemn as a mortician. "I've never tried."

Jennifer blinked as he turned to lead her down the back stairs. She was wondering, and not for the first time, if he was being serious or not.

Severus unlocked and opened the door, showing her in. The first thing she noticed was the carefully set up potion lab on the back wall, and then the perfect order of the shelves. Half of them had ingredients and the other half had books, and everything was precisely labeled. Of course, it was very like a potion teacher to be more concerned about ingredient organization than his own appearance, so that came as no surprise. The professor's black hair seemed to be forever in his face, and his faded black robes had seen better days. Still, there was a subtle grace to his movements, developed from hours in the lab, and a definite mystery to his gaze which Jennifer wasn't quite sure how to interpret, or if she should even try to look further...

"Making Subtle Slumber, I assume?" Jennifer asked. The sleeping potion was effective, but mild enough to wake up at an appointed hour. Jennifer had remembered from the schedule that he had an early patrol the next day. Severus nodded at her quickly, and as he was lighting the boiler, she handed him the roc feather powder that she had noticed on the shelf.

"So you know your way around a potion lab," he commented, measuring out some Sleep Sand. It wasn't really a question, but Jennifer decided to answer it anyhow.

"I taught Item Enchantment and Potion Creation Theory at Beauxbatons," she explained. "Madame Maxime didn't trust me with much."

"That is not surprising," he said quietly. "The reputation of your family surely preceded you. Such things don't easily fade over time." There had been something in his tone that almost sounded like a question, but the event with the students asking about her past had already unsettled her.

"What happened in my father's past has nothing to do with me," Jennifer snapped. Severus turned around and studied her a moment, as if he was mulling over the sudden rise in her temper.

"Do not be so sure of that," he advised, turning back to the potion and adding a couple of personal modifications to the formula. He carefully poured the brew into two waiting goblets, handing her one. "As you may have already noticed, a person's heritage tends to have a great impact on how one is treated in this school. You don't think that just having a Craw back in Britain is enough to get people wondering about you? You probably would have been better off if you had stayed in France, you know. Why did you take this job?"

"Who wouldn't?" she challenged him unconcernedly. He squinted at her.

"Certainly not someone who should be maintaining a low profile right now," he replied. "I don't need to tell you that the Craw family has many enemies, and you are the last of your line. The last member of a family infamously known for its powerful dark wizards and witches."

"So that's the real reason you don't trust me, is it?" she conjectured, swirling the cup in her hand.

Severus paused, but then smiled thinly.

"Don't bother trying to test me, newly appointed Professor Craw," he warned. "You'll find I don't make a good subject."

"Then it looks like we have something in common." Jennifer answered evenly.

"It would seem so," Severus nodded with a serious, or perhaps cautious expression. "Cheers."

Jennifer tipped her cup to him in response and swallowed down the hot, bitter substance, trying not to cough. Severus smirked and was about ready to comment when there came a knock at the door. Quickly Severus went over, listening for a moment before opening it.

"Good evening, Severus."

"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore. Please come in."

Jennifer put her cup down and stood in time to see the Headmaster enter, his appearance rather striking next to the pallid demure of Professor Snape.

"Ah, Jennifer! I thought you might be here. Don't forget to turn in your discipline reports so we can schedule detention for those two boys. Also, Thursday I will have some guests in from the Ministry of Magic. Would you greet them for me and show them up around four o'clock? I'm sure we can arrange for someone fill in for you during that time."

"Certainly, Professor," Jennifer replied.

"Not too bruised after your first day, I trust," Dumbledore added with a gentle smile.

"Well, no, not now, Professor. I have been receiving plenty of good advice from some of the other staff," Jennifer explained.

"I am quite glad to hear it. I trust Minerva and Severus implicitly, and you should too, Jennifer," he advised with a smile. "You can be sure that you can tell them about anything, even things you wouldn't tell me. Good night, Jennifer. Good night, Severus, see you first thing tomorrow morning."

Jennifer looked blankly at the door when he left.

"What in cauldrons did he mean by that?" she asked.

"I gave up trying to understand his advice at the time he says it. Just give it a while, I'm sure you'll sort it out," Severus said with a shrug.

In truth, Severus was more curious why Jennifer was greeting the Ministry guests, and wondered if that might not have been a dangerous idea. But Jennifer shrugged off the comments and tried to ignore what she read in his expression. Feeling the sedative taking effect, she thanked Severus and went off to bed.