For those of you who remember this as "THE STEEL ROSE", I'm sorry to say that I changed the title. I'm horrid with titles, I swear! *sigh* Still, please R&R, I'll try to get more out at a reasonable rate. :)

On the more legalistic note, the canon characters in the Harry Potter-verse don't belong to me but to JK Rowling and Scholastic books. If, for whatever reason, you've never read the books (the next question being, why are you reading fanfic for a book you've never read?! Ah yes, we now have the movie, don't we?), I'd suggest doing it to get a grip on the characters here. Cheers! :-D



CHAPTER ONE

"May I please have your attention, students and faculty. Hello, am I on?" Albus Dumbledore lightly tapped his throat, causing thumping echoes to reverberate off the walls of the great hall and eliciting laughs from the students. "I hope you enjoyed your meals, they were prepared by some very talented little chefs." He caught Hermione's eye and winked, smiling at the embarassed flush that came over the fifth year's face. "Now that you are sorted and stuffed, a couple of words on new school rules.

"Hogsmeade trips for third years and higher have been put under strict supervision. Details will be given to each house by the Prefects but due to the threats faced lately we have decided your safety is of more concern to us than your fun. That is not to say," he continued over the sudden babble of voices, "you will be followed everywhere or forced to curtail fun activities, but certain restrictions will be placed on you. Failure to abide by these rules could result in expellment.

"First years, and again all students, the Dark Forest is off limits; please remember this. Quidditch trials will begin next week; contact Madam Hooch if you are interested in playing for your house teams.

"I'd also like to introduce a new member to our faculty this year. Professor Haley Collins, on loan from America, will be taking over our Defense Against the Dark Arts class this year. Please give her a warm welcome."

Applause rang through most of the hall as a red haired witch stood, giving a small wave before sitting back down.

"And now," Albus said with much flourish, "let us all sing our beloved school's anthem!"

Several teachers gave deep sighs while one or two surrepticiously cast temporary deafening charms on themselves as the students began to sing.

* *

"Well! That was certainly...interesting."

Minerva McGonnagal smiled at the statement. "Quite a bit different than your own school days?"

"Quite," Haley replied succinctly, although she grinned as she said it. "Is he always this unorthodox?"

"Albus? You get used to him, or go crazy trying to understand how he thinks. Now, these stairs," Minerva continued, "lead up to the various teacher's quarters. You might get confused initially trying to find certain faculty rooms; several have misleading charms on the walkways to their quarters to deter students from finding them, and even then the setup itself can be difficult to navigate if you are new. Heads of the Houses, or the teachers to whom the House prefects and head students report to, live in the perspective House commons. Ah, and here I believe is your room."

They stopped before a beautifully carved mahogany door at the top of a small staircase. McGonnagal handed Haley an old fashioned key, slightly rusty in the dim light and with the teeth in the curious shape of a great horned owl. It fit easily into the keyhole and the door began to swing open...only to be firmly slammed shut in their faces.

"Ex-cuse me mom, I'm like, changing in here!" a voice yelled through the wood, obviously miffed.

Both teachers stared nonplussed at the door, then Haley flashed McGonnagal a pained smile that looked forced around the edges. "I see my daughter found the room all right," she said with a slight chuckle, a longsuffering look written across her face. "Thanks again Minerva."

The older professor glanced from the door back to Haley, then gave the new professor a sympathetic look. "Goodnight then," she replied and headed toward Gryffindor tower.

Haley waited until Minerva had disappeared before rounding on the door and pushing it open. The heavy door opened easily on well-oiled hinges to reveal a beautiful room complete with a four poster bed, heavy green curtains, and a floating chandalier about three feet from the top of her head. At that moment though, Haley had eyes only for her daughter, who was putting away her own clothes in BOTH the room's wardrobes. "Aiylea Marie Stanhope," she stated, choosing to admire her room at a later date, "what was that about? And in front of another teacher no less!" Haley rubbed her forehead with her fingers, glaring at her daughter. "I'm sure she's wondering how I can possibly teach students if I can't even keep my daughter in line."

"Geez mom," Leah replied, rolling her eyes as she set a pair of bright green Doc Marten boots in the closet, "you don't have to pitch a fit. I told you, I was changing."

"I'm your mother, young lady, there's nothing I haven't already seen." Leah gave Haley 'that look' before rolling her eyes again, and Haley's own eyes narrowed. "Oh no, don't tell me you've gotten another..."

Leah snorted. "Yeah, as if I'd tell you after the last time," she replied. "Do you have any idea how expensive it is to get a tattoo, not to mention *painful*, only to have your mom erase it clean away with a simple spell? In answer," she added hastily as Haley fingered her wand, "I *don't* have another one... but I'd probably lie about it anyway."

Haley's eyes crossed in exasperation as she let out another longsuffering sigh, but she put her wand away. "You're impossible, you know that?"

Leah grinned. "But you love me anyway."



The snapdragon portion had been all wrong again. He'd messed up on the potion for the third time straight. What in Merlin's universe was wrong with him?

Disposing of the cauldron's contents in disgust, Snape sat down at his desk, picked up the quill, and drew a firm line through the snapdragon amount he had written. Staring for a moment at the recipe he was attempting to concoct, he curled his lip and threw the quill back to the desk.

Focus, he thought angrily, arms folding as he began pacing the dungeons again. The mandrake root extract seemed the right choice to counteract the ill effects of the snapdragon flower, but he had apparently miscalculated and added too little of it too late...or perhaps too early. No, he corrected mentally, it had indeed been too late; he should have begun to stir in the mandrake root when the potion had begun turning magenta and was its most potent, not when it was well on its way to violet. A twenty second window, but it had cost him yet another batch of serum for the project he was working on. Stopping by his desk he again picked up the quill, writing down hasty notes before pacing some more. The first part of the potion had gone well; the tallow, willow sap, and cedra weed had come together well, and in theory would mix well with the second set of ingredients provided they were given in the right order, at the right instant...

The creaking of his classroom door interrupted his musings and he whirled around, flashing an annoyed gaze at the new arrival. "What do you want?"

A small frown furrowed Draco Malfoy's brow, the boy unused to the Head of his house snapping at him; he recovered quickly though, anger taking the frown's place. "I bring you more glad tidings," he replied sarcastically, hitching a hip against one of the long tables.

Curbing his temper but not his sneer, Snape answered, "Being the messenger boy for your father again?" The boy's cheeks flushed, confirming Snape's suspicions; Draco didn't look too happy with the situation as he preferred to think of himself as being nobody's lackey. Not feeling the least bit sorry for the boy but nonetheless reining in his annoyance further Snape asked, "What message do you have to give this time?"

Draco's jaw tensed, but he replied, "He just wants to thank you for the dubious entertainment and hopes to see more of you in the future."

The message obviously didn't make much sense to the boy, but Snape understood exactly what Lucius referred to. A small shiver shot up his spine but he allowed himself no reaction in front of Lucius' son, merely nodding and with a wave dismissing the blond student.

Draco refused to take the hint. "What are you making?" he asked, walking down the steps to the bottom of the room and studying the ingredients.

Annoyed at the further interruption, Snape growled, "something too advanced for a mere fifth year to appreciate, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco's gaze moved to the empty cauldrons at the edge of the table, evidence of Snape's mistakes with the previous batches and, to the potions professor, a mark of failure. Knowing the boy would probably have something to say about it Snape moved around the table until he was in Draco's line of vision. "Isn't it a little late for you to be out of your House, Mr. Malfoy?" he said in a silky voice, glaring at the student.

Blue eyes moved between Snape and the ingredients as a calculating look came into the boy's eyes, and Snape wondered just what conclusion the young mind had come to. Draco shrugged nonchalantly however, his face a neutral mask, and turned back toward the door.

Snape turned away and began pacing again, trusting the boy knew his way out. That he didn't hear the door open never occurred to Snape until he heard Malfoy's voice echo lightly through the dungeon. "Do you... need any help, Professor?"

Snape turned and regarded the boy sharply: what was he playing at? The mask the blond child usually wore like a protective shield seemed to have slipped ever so slightly, revealing ... something Snape couldn't nail down. Yearning, genuine curiousity, hope? Taking notice of other things, the professor also saw that Draco's usual cronies Crabbe and Goyle were conspicuously missing - indeed, the boy seemed quite alone, and the trio was as close-knit as the accursed Potter gang. Nevertheless, Snape refused to allow himself to be fooled. That couldn't be a yearning look in Draco's eyes; such feelings required a heart, something absent from the whole of the Malfoy family. "No thank you Mr. Malfoy, I believe I can do perfectly well on my own."

A hurt look flashed across Draco's face, swiftly disappearing between one instant and the next. The boy nodded and quickly fled the room, the dungeon door creaking shut behind him.

Snape blinked once then gazed raptly at his desk edge, his lips threatening to twitch into a malicious smile. This time he knew what he had seen, and he wondered lazily just where Lucius Malfoy's son could have picked up emotional habits.