Disclaimer: This is my story, I own the plot. Only one character is a product of my imagination, the rest belong to J.K. Rowling, and I have stolen them for my own purposes. I certainly hope you enjoy this story, and if you do, please honor me with a review. My apologies for any Grammar mistakes, or Misspellings.
The clock was chiming midnight when Snape ascended the stairs up to Dumbledore's office. Why on earth he wanted to see him so late at night, he didn't know. The old man had approached him at diner and quietly 'suggested' he give him a visit sometime after midnight, to discuss some extremely private manners. That had certainly gotten Snape's attention. For the rest of the night, he could help wondering what Dumbledore meant.
He was always worried about his position as teacher at the school. Dumbledore was being extremely generous in giving him a second chance at making a life for himself. And he gave him his trust as well, allowing him watch over an extremely large group of children. He also put up with Snape's less chipper attitude towards those very students.
Snape felt his stomach drop just a little as he came up to the door of the office. He took a deep breath and then entered.
To his surprise, the office bustling with noise. Practically every other teather at the school was packed in the relatively small office. McGonagall smiled at Snape as he entered, but he couldn't help but feel nervous. What was all of this?
"Ah, Professor Snape, you're here," Dumbledore said loudly over the murmuring of the small crowd. Everyone got quiet and assembled themselves into a sort of circle, putting Snape in the middle.
Snape looked around, his lip curled up into a sneer, "What is the meaning of all this?"
"We have a very important matter to discuss with you," McGonagall said from a corner. Her face was lit by the flicking candle's near by, and the scene was a bit eerie.
Snape's eye's darted about, "Well, what is it?"
Dumbledore was searching inside a drawer of his desk. Snape came forward as Dumbledore produced a piece of parchment. He handed it to Snape, who saw that it was a piece of ripped newspaper. A muggle newspaper, he saw, noting that the fuzzy picture was motionless.
"Read," Dumbledore urged him.
But Snape's eyes were being drawn to the picture. It was of a young girl, no older than her mid teens. She had long, impossibly dark hair framing a face that was over shown by two large, sparkling eyes. They looked dark in the picture, but there was really no way to tell what color they really were. Her full lips were turned down into a frown. She was dressed in Muggle attire- a skimpy top that didn't hid much, especially not her small, perky breasts.
'He didn't show you this so you could ogle her body,' Snape scolded himself. He forced his gaze to the article. The bold title declared 'KILLER CAUGHT AT CRIME SCENE' and underneath 'Punishment Pending'.
"Who is this?" Snape asked, looking up from the paper.
"Her name is Natalie Blake. This article was published over a year ago." Dumbledore explained. He handed Snape another article, again from a Muggle paper. It showed the same picture as the first, this time smaller. The headline read 'MULTIPLE MURDERER DISAPEARS BEFORE TRAIL'.
Snape shook his head, "I still don't understand. What does this Muggle girl have to do with me?"
"Well, that's just it. She's no Muggle. She descended from a line of pure wizards that can be traced back nearly five hundred years. The Blake's happen to be close friends of the Malfoy's."
Snape tilted his head, interested now. Dumbledore handed him yet another piece of parchment. This time, it was a Wizard newspaper. A French one. The picture showed the same, lovely yound girl with hair a bit longer, being ushered into a cell.
"She's in prison?" Snape asked.
"Azkaban."
Snape's head snapped up. "Azkaban," he echoed.
"Yes. She killed three Muggle boys with a curse she learned from her father. We tried our hardest to cover everything up, but the non-wizard media got a hold of the story. Luckily, she was able to 'disappear' before her trail. She was sent to the ministry of magic and was sentenced to twenty years in Azkaban. Certainly an unwarranted punishment, considering her motives to commit the crime."
"And what were those?"
"I'm afraid her file is confidential. In time, she may tell you herself."
Snape's brows narrowed over his shinning eyes, "And how would she do that?"
"That is why we called you hear. We made a sort of deal. You see, Natalie was studying abroad in France before this incident. She was banned from that school after convicted of the crime, but she's been continuing her studies in Azkaban through our school. She has some of the top scores on her OWLs. She's an extremely bright young girl, and it seemed a waste to leave her rot in that horrible place when she has so much obvious potential. So, we made a deal, and she is being brought here. To Hogwarts."
"What?!" Snape exploded, "That's insane! You're bringing a killer here? To live amoung our students."
Dumbledore's eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward and planted his hands on the edge of his desk, "We're giving her a second chance, like we've given many people here at our school. Everyone deserves a second chance, don't you agree, Severus?"
Snape gulped and nodded, feeling his stomach twist up.
Dumbledore straighten and cleared his throat, "And, of course, she can't stay in the dorms with the students. So we've decided that…"
"No!" Snape yelled. He could see where this was headed, and we he would have no part in it.
"She will be staying with you, in your quarters," Dumbledore finished.
"You can not ask that of me," Snape growled. He turned, seeing the teacher close in to his left. He looked the opposite direction and saw that he was literally trapped.
"Oh, but we can," said McGonagal from behind him.
"You're the only one with an extra room," Dumbledore added, "And we are sure you can deal with her, should she prove to have deserved her sentence."
"No!"
"But don't worry, we done extensive background research and she's been analyzed by psychologists. I have even personally met with her, and I can assure you, you have nothing to fear."
"I wont do it," Snape spat over his shoulder. He was on his way to the door.
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice."
Snape spun around, his dark robes flaring out around him, "What?"
"You don't have a choice. You either do this, or lose your job."
Snape stood, staring the Headmaster straight into his eyes. He didn't move, just heaved heavy, hot breaths. If Dumbledore didn't know the man so well, he might have been frightened. That look certainly brought terror to Snape's students.
The other teachers exchanged weary looks. They'd spent the last few hours discussing how to break the news to the moody professor, and they had prepared for the worst. They were all hoping that it wouldn't come to that. They watched Snape anxiously. He wasn't moving. No emotion was displayed on his face.
Finally, he said, "When does the little prat arrive?"
The was an audible exhale on the part of the entire group. Dumbledore walked out form behind his desk and walked to the grandfather clock that stood in the corner. He turned back to the group.
"I believe that she should be arriving now," he said. Then he lead the way to the door.
The clock was chiming midnight when Snape ascended the stairs up to Dumbledore's office. Why on earth he wanted to see him so late at night, he didn't know. The old man had approached him at diner and quietly 'suggested' he give him a visit sometime after midnight, to discuss some extremely private manners. That had certainly gotten Snape's attention. For the rest of the night, he could help wondering what Dumbledore meant.
He was always worried about his position as teacher at the school. Dumbledore was being extremely generous in giving him a second chance at making a life for himself. And he gave him his trust as well, allowing him watch over an extremely large group of children. He also put up with Snape's less chipper attitude towards those very students.
Snape felt his stomach drop just a little as he came up to the door of the office. He took a deep breath and then entered.
To his surprise, the office bustling with noise. Practically every other teather at the school was packed in the relatively small office. McGonagall smiled at Snape as he entered, but he couldn't help but feel nervous. What was all of this?
"Ah, Professor Snape, you're here," Dumbledore said loudly over the murmuring of the small crowd. Everyone got quiet and assembled themselves into a sort of circle, putting Snape in the middle.
Snape looked around, his lip curled up into a sneer, "What is the meaning of all this?"
"We have a very important matter to discuss with you," McGonagall said from a corner. Her face was lit by the flicking candle's near by, and the scene was a bit eerie.
Snape's eye's darted about, "Well, what is it?"
Dumbledore was searching inside a drawer of his desk. Snape came forward as Dumbledore produced a piece of parchment. He handed it to Snape, who saw that it was a piece of ripped newspaper. A muggle newspaper, he saw, noting that the fuzzy picture was motionless.
"Read," Dumbledore urged him.
But Snape's eyes were being drawn to the picture. It was of a young girl, no older than her mid teens. She had long, impossibly dark hair framing a face that was over shown by two large, sparkling eyes. They looked dark in the picture, but there was really no way to tell what color they really were. Her full lips were turned down into a frown. She was dressed in Muggle attire- a skimpy top that didn't hid much, especially not her small, perky breasts.
'He didn't show you this so you could ogle her body,' Snape scolded himself. He forced his gaze to the article. The bold title declared 'KILLER CAUGHT AT CRIME SCENE' and underneath 'Punishment Pending'.
"Who is this?" Snape asked, looking up from the paper.
"Her name is Natalie Blake. This article was published over a year ago." Dumbledore explained. He handed Snape another article, again from a Muggle paper. It showed the same picture as the first, this time smaller. The headline read 'MULTIPLE MURDERER DISAPEARS BEFORE TRAIL'.
Snape shook his head, "I still don't understand. What does this Muggle girl have to do with me?"
"Well, that's just it. She's no Muggle. She descended from a line of pure wizards that can be traced back nearly five hundred years. The Blake's happen to be close friends of the Malfoy's."
Snape tilted his head, interested now. Dumbledore handed him yet another piece of parchment. This time, it was a Wizard newspaper. A French one. The picture showed the same, lovely yound girl with hair a bit longer, being ushered into a cell.
"She's in prison?" Snape asked.
"Azkaban."
Snape's head snapped up. "Azkaban," he echoed.
"Yes. She killed three Muggle boys with a curse she learned from her father. We tried our hardest to cover everything up, but the non-wizard media got a hold of the story. Luckily, she was able to 'disappear' before her trail. She was sent to the ministry of magic and was sentenced to twenty years in Azkaban. Certainly an unwarranted punishment, considering her motives to commit the crime."
"And what were those?"
"I'm afraid her file is confidential. In time, she may tell you herself."
Snape's brows narrowed over his shinning eyes, "And how would she do that?"
"That is why we called you hear. We made a sort of deal. You see, Natalie was studying abroad in France before this incident. She was banned from that school after convicted of the crime, but she's been continuing her studies in Azkaban through our school. She has some of the top scores on her OWLs. She's an extremely bright young girl, and it seemed a waste to leave her rot in that horrible place when she has so much obvious potential. So, we made a deal, and she is being brought here. To Hogwarts."
"What?!" Snape exploded, "That's insane! You're bringing a killer here? To live amoung our students."
Dumbledore's eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward and planted his hands on the edge of his desk, "We're giving her a second chance, like we've given many people here at our school. Everyone deserves a second chance, don't you agree, Severus?"
Snape gulped and nodded, feeling his stomach twist up.
Dumbledore straighten and cleared his throat, "And, of course, she can't stay in the dorms with the students. So we've decided that…"
"No!" Snape yelled. He could see where this was headed, and we he would have no part in it.
"She will be staying with you, in your quarters," Dumbledore finished.
"You can not ask that of me," Snape growled. He turned, seeing the teacher close in to his left. He looked the opposite direction and saw that he was literally trapped.
"Oh, but we can," said McGonagal from behind him.
"You're the only one with an extra room," Dumbledore added, "And we are sure you can deal with her, should she prove to have deserved her sentence."
"No!"
"But don't worry, we done extensive background research and she's been analyzed by psychologists. I have even personally met with her, and I can assure you, you have nothing to fear."
"I wont do it," Snape spat over his shoulder. He was on his way to the door.
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice."
Snape spun around, his dark robes flaring out around him, "What?"
"You don't have a choice. You either do this, or lose your job."
Snape stood, staring the Headmaster straight into his eyes. He didn't move, just heaved heavy, hot breaths. If Dumbledore didn't know the man so well, he might have been frightened. That look certainly brought terror to Snape's students.
The other teachers exchanged weary looks. They'd spent the last few hours discussing how to break the news to the moody professor, and they had prepared for the worst. They were all hoping that it wouldn't come to that. They watched Snape anxiously. He wasn't moving. No emotion was displayed on his face.
Finally, he said, "When does the little prat arrive?"
The was an audible exhale on the part of the entire group. Dumbledore walked out form behind his desk and walked to the grandfather clock that stood in the corner. He turned back to the group.
"I believe that she should be arriving now," he said. Then he lead the way to the door.