CHAPTER EIGHT
That morning, as Severus Snape waltzed into the Great Hall for breakfast, the entire populus of the High Table noticed a significant differ in his mood. Could they, dare they, say that Severus Salazar Snape was--cheerful?
Snape took a seat next to Professor McGonagall.
"Good morning, Minerva," Snape said, chirpily.
McGonagall was taken aback. In all his year of teaching at Hogwarts, Snape had taken his seat next to her with a irritable nod of the head. Now he was greeting her?
"Good morning, Severus," she said, not unabashed to with the amount of surprise in her voice.
"Did you and Miss Diamond work out the arrangements?" McGonagall asked, a few moments later.
Snape nodded. "Yes, I feel quite certain that Diamond can handel the first, second, and fifth years by herself. I gave her the lessons that I had planned for this week and I fancy she is smart enough to handle the situation from there."
Professor McGonagall didn't respond, breakfast had appeared on the golden plates in front of them.
********
Dia Diamond had overslept. She could feel it in her bones as she awoke from her drunken sleep.
After uttering all the Muggle oaths she knew, she slipped into her jet black robes without doing any other preperations.
Dia flew down the corridors to the Great Hall, trying to concoct an excuse if Dumbledore asked for one. By all means, she had a reliable one. Until 5:00 in the morning, Snape and she had discussed all that she needed to know for handeling his Potions classes. She would be taking over the first years (easy enough), second years (a little tougher), and the sixth years (the infamous Gryffindor-Slytherin class) and would be assisting Snape with the rest. But she assumed that "assisting" Snape would mean doing most of the teaching. She understood the pressure of teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts and half the Potion classes at the same time.
By the time she reached the doors to the Great Hall, she reckoned that breakfast was halfway over. She slowly pulled them open and loud noise assulted her ears. The four house tables were lined with the members, all refilling their plates with the hearty food. She scurried to the High Table and sank into her seat between Snape and Professor Sprout with a sigh.
"I overslept," she told Snape, catching her breath.
Snape who had been chatting with McGonagall, instinctivly turned to her and said, "Very well," and turned his attention back to McGonagall. But his eyes bulged and he jerked his head to gawk at Dia. "Who are you?"
Dia's mouth gaped. "What do you mean?" she cried, too loudly, for she caught the attention of the other members of the High Table, who stared at her with equal curiosity.
"What?" she cried, flitting her gaze between Sprout and Snape.
Snape quickly shook his head. "Nothing," he muttered, turning his attention again to McGonagall.
Dia shot a pleading look to Sprout, who smiled gentle. "It's just that you look so different, dear."
Confusion coursed through Dia. Look different? Then, instinctivly she reached for the rim of her thick glasses and her high ponytale, only to be greeted by the bridge of her nose and her long hair hanging widly down her back.
She gasped and poked Snape in the arm. He turned to her, rather annoyed, but when he met her eyes his expression went lax. "What?"
"I look different!" she cried.
"I see that!" he snarled.
"No, no..I mean, I overslept and I didn't have time to get ready or anything. I'm not ready to do this. I only had a few hours of sleep and...how are you so refreshed? You stayed up as long as me!" Dia said.
Snape made a gesture with his hand for Dia to lower her voice since she was getting stares from the other professors and students nearby. "I made my self a potion. I can make one for you once we get down to the dungeons. Silly fool. Do you remember what to do?"
Dia nodded, brushing her hair out of her face. "Yes. I have the first years first. Do the simple sleeping potion with them. The second years are the wart removal potion and the fifth years..."
"...are the antidotes to poisions! Do you ever use that brain of yours, Diamond?" Snape snapped, turning back to his plate.
Dia didn't fire a comeback, for she was too bust remembering the lessons as she ate the food that had appeared on her plate.
Both ate in silence, except for Dia mumbling under her breath what to do and took no notice whatsoever of the greasy haired, hooked nosed professor that sat next to her. But Snape, although not showing it, rather fancied (and thanked the forgetfulness of) the assistant that sat next to him that at the moment looked like a true veela with moonbeams for hair and sapphires for eyes.
********
Classes that day for the students of Hogwarts were bittersweet. The two most talked about classes of the day were no doubt, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions.
Although everyone went through the misery of it, pity was felt for the third, fourth, sixth, and seventh years who had Snape twice that day, as the replacement for Professor Goddlin and as Potions master. When Goddlin taught, which was never, the only defense of Dark magic that was learned was how to ward off poltergesists--using Peeves as the subject. The class had been so noisy that many a time Professor McGonagall had to come and quiet them down. Now, with Snape, the only sound was the feverish sound of quills scribbling lecture notes on parchment and Snape's zealous voice. Snape taught Defense Against the Dark Arts with a passion the students never heard before in Potions. Snape and DADA were made for each other. When he wasn't preaching overzealously about the horrors of the Dark Arts, Snape was deducting House points here and there from Ravenclaw, Huflepuff, and of course Gryffindor, while giving points to his Slytherin. A petition was passed amongst the students after
the first class ended asking Professor Goddlin to come and resume position as Defense Aginst the Dark Arts master.
For the first time ever (except Slytherin) students didn't complain about Potions. It was the new assistant who had taken over for Snape. Many hadn't even remembered her for being there the past two days--being hidden behind her big glasses and all. Now, a girl who could be mistaken for a veela was teaching them, her hair hanging wildly around her and her eyes hypnotizing. Many a boys felt the saddness was filled from the hole Fleur Delacore caused when she went back to Beauxbatons. Miss Diamond, as she was called, had all the intellect in Potions as Snape did. Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor (especially Gryffindor) loved her for she rewarded them with the points they so deserved. And she took points away from Slytherin (mostly on Draco Malfoy's behalf) when they acted cruelly to other students. But although Snape did teach half of the disasterous third, fourth, sixth, and seventh year lessons, Miss Diamond taught the second half, and rewarded the points back to the
houses that Snape had deducted. A petition was passed amongst the students during the first class asking Miss Diamond to be the permanent Potions mistress.
Both petitions were handed over to Dumbledore, who vetoed the first, but seriously considered the latter.
That morning, as Severus Snape waltzed into the Great Hall for breakfast, the entire populus of the High Table noticed a significant differ in his mood. Could they, dare they, say that Severus Salazar Snape was--cheerful?
Snape took a seat next to Professor McGonagall.
"Good morning, Minerva," Snape said, chirpily.
McGonagall was taken aback. In all his year of teaching at Hogwarts, Snape had taken his seat next to her with a irritable nod of the head. Now he was greeting her?
"Good morning, Severus," she said, not unabashed to with the amount of surprise in her voice.
"Did you and Miss Diamond work out the arrangements?" McGonagall asked, a few moments later.
Snape nodded. "Yes, I feel quite certain that Diamond can handel the first, second, and fifth years by herself. I gave her the lessons that I had planned for this week and I fancy she is smart enough to handle the situation from there."
Professor McGonagall didn't respond, breakfast had appeared on the golden plates in front of them.
********
Dia Diamond had overslept. She could feel it in her bones as she awoke from her drunken sleep.
After uttering all the Muggle oaths she knew, she slipped into her jet black robes without doing any other preperations.
Dia flew down the corridors to the Great Hall, trying to concoct an excuse if Dumbledore asked for one. By all means, she had a reliable one. Until 5:00 in the morning, Snape and she had discussed all that she needed to know for handeling his Potions classes. She would be taking over the first years (easy enough), second years (a little tougher), and the sixth years (the infamous Gryffindor-Slytherin class) and would be assisting Snape with the rest. But she assumed that "assisting" Snape would mean doing most of the teaching. She understood the pressure of teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts and half the Potion classes at the same time.
By the time she reached the doors to the Great Hall, she reckoned that breakfast was halfway over. She slowly pulled them open and loud noise assulted her ears. The four house tables were lined with the members, all refilling their plates with the hearty food. She scurried to the High Table and sank into her seat between Snape and Professor Sprout with a sigh.
"I overslept," she told Snape, catching her breath.
Snape who had been chatting with McGonagall, instinctivly turned to her and said, "Very well," and turned his attention back to McGonagall. But his eyes bulged and he jerked his head to gawk at Dia. "Who are you?"
Dia's mouth gaped. "What do you mean?" she cried, too loudly, for she caught the attention of the other members of the High Table, who stared at her with equal curiosity.
"What?" she cried, flitting her gaze between Sprout and Snape.
Snape quickly shook his head. "Nothing," he muttered, turning his attention again to McGonagall.
Dia shot a pleading look to Sprout, who smiled gentle. "It's just that you look so different, dear."
Confusion coursed through Dia. Look different? Then, instinctivly she reached for the rim of her thick glasses and her high ponytale, only to be greeted by the bridge of her nose and her long hair hanging widly down her back.
She gasped and poked Snape in the arm. He turned to her, rather annoyed, but when he met her eyes his expression went lax. "What?"
"I look different!" she cried.
"I see that!" he snarled.
"No, no..I mean, I overslept and I didn't have time to get ready or anything. I'm not ready to do this. I only had a few hours of sleep and...how are you so refreshed? You stayed up as long as me!" Dia said.
Snape made a gesture with his hand for Dia to lower her voice since she was getting stares from the other professors and students nearby. "I made my self a potion. I can make one for you once we get down to the dungeons. Silly fool. Do you remember what to do?"
Dia nodded, brushing her hair out of her face. "Yes. I have the first years first. Do the simple sleeping potion with them. The second years are the wart removal potion and the fifth years..."
"...are the antidotes to poisions! Do you ever use that brain of yours, Diamond?" Snape snapped, turning back to his plate.
Dia didn't fire a comeback, for she was too bust remembering the lessons as she ate the food that had appeared on her plate.
Both ate in silence, except for Dia mumbling under her breath what to do and took no notice whatsoever of the greasy haired, hooked nosed professor that sat next to her. But Snape, although not showing it, rather fancied (and thanked the forgetfulness of) the assistant that sat next to him that at the moment looked like a true veela with moonbeams for hair and sapphires for eyes.
********
Classes that day for the students of Hogwarts were bittersweet. The two most talked about classes of the day were no doubt, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions.
Although everyone went through the misery of it, pity was felt for the third, fourth, sixth, and seventh years who had Snape twice that day, as the replacement for Professor Goddlin and as Potions master. When Goddlin taught, which was never, the only defense of Dark magic that was learned was how to ward off poltergesists--using Peeves as the subject. The class had been so noisy that many a time Professor McGonagall had to come and quiet them down. Now, with Snape, the only sound was the feverish sound of quills scribbling lecture notes on parchment and Snape's zealous voice. Snape taught Defense Against the Dark Arts with a passion the students never heard before in Potions. Snape and DADA were made for each other. When he wasn't preaching overzealously about the horrors of the Dark Arts, Snape was deducting House points here and there from Ravenclaw, Huflepuff, and of course Gryffindor, while giving points to his Slytherin. A petition was passed amongst the students after
the first class ended asking Professor Goddlin to come and resume position as Defense Aginst the Dark Arts master.
For the first time ever (except Slytherin) students didn't complain about Potions. It was the new assistant who had taken over for Snape. Many hadn't even remembered her for being there the past two days--being hidden behind her big glasses and all. Now, a girl who could be mistaken for a veela was teaching them, her hair hanging wildly around her and her eyes hypnotizing. Many a boys felt the saddness was filled from the hole Fleur Delacore caused when she went back to Beauxbatons. Miss Diamond, as she was called, had all the intellect in Potions as Snape did. Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor (especially Gryffindor) loved her for she rewarded them with the points they so deserved. And she took points away from Slytherin (mostly on Draco Malfoy's behalf) when they acted cruelly to other students. But although Snape did teach half of the disasterous third, fourth, sixth, and seventh year lessons, Miss Diamond taught the second half, and rewarded the points back to the
houses that Snape had deducted. A petition was passed amongst the students during the first class asking Miss Diamond to be the permanent Potions mistress.
Both petitions were handed over to Dumbledore, who vetoed the first, but seriously considered the latter.