SEDUCE AND DESTROY

Chapter 2:
~Severus Snape~







Over 150 years old, yet his eyes still retain their youthful charm,thought Aurora in half-disbelief as followed Dumbledore through the winding halls of the school. He was rambling cheerily about how much had gone on since Aurora graduated; he spoke of Duelling Clubs, Quidditch matches, Yule Balls and the Triwizard Tournament, enough to make Aurora quite dizzy. Several minutes into their promenade, the two wizards stopped abruptly in front of a large and hideous-looking stone gargoyle.

"Babbling Butterscotch Bubblegum!" Dumbledore exclaimed and the gargoyle hopped aside, just as the wall behind it split in two. They stepped onto the moving spiral staircase. "The tea is waiting patiently for us inside," he said as they reached his office door, which opened immediately once it recognised its master.

Aurora glanced around in awe as she stepped into Dumbledore's round eccentric office. Despite a few new odd trinkets here and there, it, much like the rest of Hogwarts, had not changed since she was a student - a good, long eleven years ago. Aurora smiled a genuinely happy smile. She was glad to be back; for the moment, she had forgotten the unfortunate circumstances that had brought her here.

She caught sight of a beautiful bright red and gold bird and smiled. "Hullo Fawkes!" she greeted the phoenix. It squawked affably as Aurora pet its brilliant crimson feathers.

Dumbledore gestured toward the small circular table at the left end of his office. "Let's get business matters out of the way first. Have a seat." Aurora sat down obligingly. At this, the flowered teapot perked up from its nap and poured her and Dumbledore some tea. He smiled at her, his eyes twinkling, and she smiled back. "I regret to inform you that, as of the moment, there are no full-time teaching positions available at Hogwarts."

Aurora's face fell, but Dumbledore smiled somewhat childishly, as though was about to reveal a big secret. "Nevertheless," he continued and Aurora sighed hopefully, "due of the fact that you are well qualified, and that I have much faith in you, I am willing to offer you the position of Teacher's Aid." Aurora opened her mouth to thank him, but before she could speak, Dumbledore went on. "I have thought about this for quite some time - Hogwarts has not employed a teacher's aid for many years now - and I have decided, if you accept the position…"

"Oh I accept!" Aurora interrupted happily.

Dumbledore smiled at her and continued. "I have decided to divide you among three teachers, one each term, the order of which is at your discretion."

"Thank you very much, Headmaster. Your generosity is unsurpassed."

"Ah! Now, now, Miss Borealis, you are only flattering yourself with these words. If you were not as intelligent and qualified as you are, I certainly would have not made the exception."

Aurora blushed a deep pink that stood out fiercely against her pale, milky-white skin. The situation was quite awkward for her, as it was on rare occasion that Aurora would allow herself to blush. She had always made a point not to show her emotions, regarding it, almost, as a sign of weakness. Emotions were her Achilles heel and she believed, especially in her line of work, that revealing them to anyone would be a fatal mistake.

Very few people had the power and presence to uncover Aurora's concealed self. They were the exception to the rule, and Dumbledore, being the powerful and respected wizard that he is, was one of them. "Oh - er - thank you," she stuttered, looking down and fiddling with her silver teaspoon. You can be such a dolt sometimes! she criticised herself. It's just a silly compliment!

Aurora looked up from her teacup and gave him a small smile. "What courses will I be assisting in?" she asked.

Dumbledore smiled back and answered, "Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions, one per term, in any order you please."

"My favourite subjects in school!" she exclaimed. Dumbledore gave her a warm nod. "Well, I suppose I will start first term with…" She paused. Aurora already knew from her sources that Severus Snape was the Potions Master at Hogwarts, and therefore Potions was definitely going to be her choice for first term. Not wanting to come off as anxious, or raise any suspicion, Aurora pretended she was actually thinking about what to choose. Finally, after a few moments of feigned thought, Aurora pronounced, "Potions. I will start first term with Potions, then Defense Against the Dark Arts and then Transfiguration…or should I start with Transfiguration…no, no…Potions it will be."

"Very well then. I will inform Severus -" Aurora arranged her face into a puzzled expression. "- Ah yes…" He raised his eyebrows, realising Aurora did not know the teachers. "Our Potions Master here at Hogwarts is Professor Severus Snape. You will meet him, and the rest of the staff, at our annual start-of-term staff meeting on August 31st. In the mean time, I will instruct the house-elves to arrange an office and chambers for you. You are not expected here before the morning of the 31st."

"Of course," she replied.

Dumbledore perked up in his chair, his clear blue eyes sparkling. "Well now that's done with, how have you been for the past eleven years?" Aurora and Dumbledore cheerfully chatted away the rest of the afternoon, catching up on all the years they had missed. It was good to be back...


~*~






August 31st - Five o'clock a.m.

"OH NO! I'M LATE!"

Aurora jumped out of the bed in her small London apartment and ran quickly toward her bathroom to start up her daily routine. Brush teeth...wash face...moisturiser...comb hair...

"AHHHA!" Aurora stopped dead in her tracks and stared out the window. It was pitch black. "What time is it?" she wondered aloud.

"Five o'clock in the morning, dearie," the old granny clock on the dresser yawned, "Get back to bed. You've got yourself four more hours of sleep…"

"Oh!" Aurora gasped sheepishly.

"Off you go now! You've got a big day ahead. You don't want bags under those big beautiful eyes of yours, now do you? Don't you worry, dearie, I'll wake you up when it's time."

"Alright then. Good night," Aurora sighed, plopped down into bed and fell fast asleep.

Four hours later…

"WAAAAAAKE! UUUUUUP!" the granny clock yelled as loud as it could, hopping about on the dresser and ringing her bells.

Aurora sprang up out of bed in shock. "In the name of the almighty Merlin!" She was breathing heavily, her hand on her chest. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

The granny clock answered calmly, in her usual old sweet tone. "It's time now, dearie, up and at 'em. Get your pretty little self ready for your big day at Hogwarts!"

Aurora groaned and sat up, her bare white feet dangling off the side of her bed. Suddenly realising something, she smiled, turned to the granny clock and said, "That's exactly what you told me eleven years ago, on my first day of school."

The granny clock nodded - well sort of, more like bent herself forward - and said, "Well hop to it! You don't want to be late!" Aurora smiled at her old friend, sprung out of bed and headed toward the bathroom.

As she was going through her usual routine, apprehensive thoughts of day and school year ahead flooded her mind. I don't know if I can do this... Teach students and spy on Snape? One or the other, damn it! I can't do both! She was really starting to panic when she reminded herself that she should think positively. For the rest of the morning, whenever she felt the slightest bit of trepidation, Aurora would ease her mind by reciting words of self-praise.

After finishing the first three-quarters of her routine - brush teeth, wash face, moisturiser- Aurora picked up the comb and began brushing her thick shoulder length hair. It was a lustrous black, with a tinge of red that visible only in the light. Her hair was gorgeous, by far one of her most beautiful features. She brushed away at her thick mane, exuding small yelps of pain every-so-often when she came across a nasty tangle.

Finally, after a ten-minute struggle with her hair, Aurora re-entered her bedroom and stood in front her large mirror. She put on her favourite black dress and turned around in front the mirror a few times, checking out her figure. She was a thin woman, but at the same time, had very prominent womanly curves.

Her dress, long-sleeved and v-necked, was very flattering indeed. It clung to all the proper places and teasingly showed just the right amount of skin. Under her knee-length dress, Aurora was wearing a pair of odd-looking, yet simultaneously seductive, crimson fishnet stockings that perfectly matched the colour of her lips. She stared at herself absentmindedly for a few minutes; at the moment, her mind was focused on her plan of espionage rather than her appearance.

Aurora wasn't considered a particularly beautiful woman. Mind you, she was still very pretty. She had a strange, yet appealing face. Her looks were reminiscent of the Muggle fairy-tale princess, Snow White, but were far more sinister. In Aurora's visage, Snow White's characteristic innocence was absent, replaced by the severity that shaped her high cheekbones, full crimson-painted lips and large sparkling black eyes. By any means, Aurora was not the friendliest looking person one could come across. More often than not, young children she passed on the street would shudder at a single glance from her. She didn't intentionally try to scare them; she couldn't help the way she looked.

When it was time to go, Aurora tied up her shiny black calf-length boots and threw a long crimson cloak over her shoulders. She packed away the last of her things, including her granny clock, locked up her trunk and bewitched it to make it feather-light. "Goodbye house," she said, "I'll see you at Christmas."

At that statement, her stomach did a little flip flop. Aurora began to feel very nervous again. You must clear your mind...You don't want to apparate into Hungary instead of Hogsmeade, she reminded herself, then grabbed the trunk handle tightly and disapparated from her London apartment.

A few seconds later, Aurora, much to her relief, found herself not in Hungary, but at the entrance to small wizarding village of Hogsmeade. Nearby, a carriage, pulled by invisible horses, was waiting for her. Once she loaded her trunk, Aurora opened the carriage door. This time, thank Merlin, I don't have to walk,she thought as she climbed inside. Much to her surprise, there was already someone in it.

Caught off guard, she said awkwardly, "Er - Hullo - Aurora Borealis, Teacher's Aid."

She closed the door and at that, the carriage gave a sudden jolt and began moving its way up towards the school. A soft, silky, masculine voice sliced through the clip-clop sound of the invisible horses, and said, "Severus Snape, Potions Master."

She eyed him up and down - his black satiny robes, long greasy black hair, hooked nose, white skin and deep black eyes - and realised, right away, the reason she had recognised his name before. Ah! Severus Snape, she thought, the notorious nemesis of the famous Marauders...How could she have forgotten? Her first year at Hogwarts was his last. At the sight of him, memories of her and her girlfriends gossiping about the latest prank the Marauders or Snape had managed to pull on each other came rushing back into her mind. They were quite entertaining...she laughed to herself.

Noticing Snape's slight annoyance with the situation, Aurora's red lips parted into a small smile. "So," she spoke slowly, "we will be teaching Potions together first term."

Snape's abysmal eyes flickered as his expression transformed into a nasty sneer. "Yes," he replied coldly - meanwhile ranting on in his head about how he is more than capable of teaching Potions on his own - "I believe so."

For the rest of the trip, Aurora and Snape sat in silence. Finally, when they reached the main entrance to Hogwarts and the carriage stopped, Aurora hopped out and took a deep breath of the fresh provincial summer air. Snape followed her, stepping slowly and carefully out of the carriage, and as she headed toward her trunk, his deep captivating voice stopped her dead in her tracks. "Miss Borealis," he addressed her.

"Yes?" she turned around and asked in a drawn out drawl that was not her own.

"You need not collect your baggage. The Headmaster has arranged for its retrieval by the house-elves. They will escort it to your chambers."

She smiled, with a hint of sparkle in her cool black eyes. "Thank you very much," she paused, "Professor."

Now that she was standing up in full figure, Snape couldn't help noticing how perfectly her tight black dress fit her curvaceous body. A hint of a smile played on his lips. She is most definitely appealing,he thought, then frowned and told himself off for thinking such inappropriate thoughts about a colleague.

Aurora noticed him looking at her and grinned wickedly, malice sparkling in her eyes. Snape's smile dropped and he contorted his face into what he hoped was a look of sheer disgust (and it was...the man was quite skilled at making himself look nasty).

Then he remarked shortly, "We will be meeting in the Great Hall," as if he were doing her a huge favour by offering her this particular piece of information.

Aurora eyed him quizzically as he turned sharply and strode off through the large main doors of Hogwarts Castle like a bat, his long black robes billowing behind him.

Aurora laughed softly to herself and followed him inside the castle.

Plan A -Seduce and destroy...



A/N: I hope you like it... I'll try to put up Chapter 3 a little sooner then I put up Chapter 2...I'll try my very best...but I have been excruciatingly busy!!!

One thing I would really like to say is PLEASE REVIEW!! I am writing this mostly because I enjoy it, but I would really appreciate your reviews. I just want to know that people are reading my story, it really motivates me to write better and faster, really! Thank you to those who have already reviewed my story. They are much appreciated.

Well that's all! Enjoy the chapter and I will see you soon!