Second chapter! Whee! Snape appears! And thanks to those who reviewed! Thanks a bunch! It really lifts my spirits to see that I have avid readers! ^_^
Chapter 2: Bacon and Cheese Slippers
Aeowyn woke up drowsily to the knocking at her door. Her amber eyes were half lidded and her shoulder length flame-red hair a twisted mess around her face. She crawled out of bed, ever so slowly, and shouted, "I'm coming! Keep your robes on!" Aeowyn put on her blue slippers that said in red on the top, "Cheese." She descended the stairs into the living room, still clad in her night ware: yellow pajama pants and top with dancing black mice on them. Still dragging her feet, she reached the door and opened it slowly.
Aeowyn thought the entire world had gone dark. She had to open her eyes completely to realize that, what she thought was a worldwide blackout, was merely a stolid man completely clad in black standing too close to the door. "Yikes, friend," she said, backing away. "I know a good robes designer who would love to get his hands on you," she laughed.
The man did not laugh nor smile at her jest. His appearance was enough to make Aeowyn depressed. He looked to be in his fifties but was actually in his early thirties, his skin pale and his hair a slick, greasy black that barely touched his shoulders, curling outward at the bottom, framing his face perfectly. He had a sloping, aquiline nose and he wore long, billowing black robes. Underneath his robes was a tight, black waistcoat on top of a white button up shirt that could be seen at the ends of his sleeves and his collar. His eyes were a dark brown, almost black and they were as empty as Aeowyn's head in the morning. "Professor McGonagall wonders if you are ever going to attend breakfast?" he asked, not pleasant at all.
Aeowyn looked at him, her lip curled in utter disbelief, but not disdain. She chuckled slightly, than caught herself. "Sorry… it's just… your wardrobe. Quite… black," she pointed out hesitantly.
The man stared at her pajamas and slippers. "And your night clothes. Quite childish," he pointed out fiercely. "I hope you do not plan to sleep in when your students arrive?" he mocked.
Aeowyn glared daggers at the man, her amber eyes flashing with a fighting spirit. "And I hope you do not plan to wear that when your students arrive," she snapped back. With a growl, the man grabbed his cloak and turned around furiously, heading down the hall with his black clothes billowing behind him. "Oh great," Aeowyn said as she slammed the door shut. "Another great start to another great day!" she said sarcastically and dramatically. "I'm glad we have Mr. Sunshine at our school," she laughed, making fun of the man.
After a quick shower, Aeowyn put on her clothes. She wore a sky blue shirt to go under her robes and khaki pants to cover her legs. She threw her robes over head and let them slide down her hourglass frame. She then wrapped a matching cloak around her neck and let it fall down her back. She looked in the mirror, staring at the forest green robes. "Ah! So much prettier than black!" she laughed aloud, giving herself the peace sign in the mirror. "Sanguis!" she called, turning around. The bat had fallen asleep hanging upside down in the closet. She marched over to him, pretending to be angry and said, "What do you think you're doing?!"
Sanguis woke up and looked at her, then covered his face with his wing, as if to say, "Go away!"
"Hmph!" Aeowyn declared, walking away. "Fine then! I'll go to breakfast by myself!" Before she could take another step, Sanguis had bolted out of the closet and landed on her shoulder, nuzzling her face. She laughed and scratched under his chin, saying, "That's what I thought!" Aeowyn left her room and stood out in the hallway, looking around. "Now… where is the Dining Hall?" she asked. Sanguis and Aeowyn glanced at each other with blank faces.
No sooner had she spoke than a figure flew out of the wall, proclaiming, "Hello!"
Aeowyn screamed and fell back, landing on her bottom as Sanguis crawled down her back. When she saw that it was a ghost that had come out of the wall, she sighed, saying, "Terribly sorry! It's just that… you startled me, that's all."
"I do apologize! You were wondering where the Dining Hall was and I was going to show it to you," he said politely. "I have never seen you around. Are you here to replace Professor Flitwick?"
"As best as I can," Aeowyn replied, already on her feet. "I'm Professor Aeowyn."
"Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower," he said with a bow.
Aeowyn smiled. "I've heard of you." Sir Nicholas was prepared to stop her before she asked how he could be "Nearly Headless", but was surprised when she said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Nicholas. Are you ready to show me the way?"
Sir Nicholas liked this girl. "Of course, Madame!" He offered her his arm and, knowing she could never take a ghost's hand, hovered her arm every so slightly above his, giving him the look of an escort. He grinned with adoration and began his walk to the Dining Hall, filling their journey with stories of his past and how he had earned his much-hated nickname.
Aeowyn could tell they were close to the Dining Hall when she heard voices. She recognized the silky, sarcastic voice of the man who had woke her up earlier. She could hear him, despite the monotone pitch of his voice. "It did not seem like she had a stuttering problem when she insulted me!"
Aeowyn scoffed, but then laughed aloud and said to Sir Nicholas, "If he wasn't so ugly, that voice of his might be attractive!" They shared a tearful laugh at the dark man's expense before Sir Nicholas said he was going to have to leave her now. She let her thanks be known and he disappeared into a wall, smiling with a wave. Aeowyn grinned, then remembered her earlier encounter with Mr. Sunshine. She sneered, entered the Dining Room, and muttered to Sanguis, "Why are the dead so much better company than the living?" She laughed, a snort escaping her nose.
As she entered the room, all of the Professors turned to look at her. She could hear a scoff come from Mr. Sunshine as McGonagall rose to her feet to greet Aeowyn. "How thoughtful of you to join us for breakfast, Miss Aeowyn."
As Aeowyn finally reached the Professors' table, she said to them, "I'm really sorry everyone. I guess I didn't set my alarm clock. I'll do it tonight."
"That would be most wise," came an elderly voice. Aeowyn turned to see who had spoken and she smiled with warmth. The oldest of the professors sat in the middle chair. He had a long white beard that didn't stop at his bellybutton and even longer, whiter hair that continued down his waist. He wore colorful robes and had the friendliest smile Aeowyn had seen in her entire life. "Professor Aeowyn," he greeted as he stood. "It is a great pleasure to have you join us at Hogwarts this year. Everyone," he announced to the professors, "this is Professor Aeowyn Sevor; a fine new addition to our staff, I assure."
Aeowyn grinned broadly and replied, "Thank you so much, Professor Dumbledore. I only hope I can be half as good as Professor Flitwick was."
"Please," Dumbledore said. "Call me Albus. You are not a student here, after all." Aeowyn glanced over to Minerva and saw her smile. "Please, sit, Aeowyn," he said as he offered her the last seat left at the table: a seat by Mr. Sunshine.
Aeowyn laughed through her teeth and said, "How peachy," just loud enough for Sanguis to hear and no one else. "Thank you, Albus." She threw her hair out of her face and took her seat by Mr. Sunshine.
He looked at her with snake-like eyes and said, "Miss Sevor."
Aeowyn looked at him like he was the stupidest thing she had ever seen, which angered him. "Yes?" she drawled.
"We have already met, yet you do not know my name," he said without patience. "I am Professor Severus Snape, teacher of Potions and head of Slytherin House."
"Charmed, I'm sure," she said without emotion. He sneered at her and turned his focus back to his breakfast, which to him was much more interesting than her. Aeowyn stared at the food before her; she had never liked breakfast food and this certainly wasn't changing her mind anytime soon. She picked up a piece of bacon and handed it to Sanguis, who squeaked with delight and began feasting on the meat.
Severus cast a harsh glance at Sanguis. "What is that?"
Aeowyn quickly jerked her head to look at him, fire blazing in her eyes. "He's not a 'that'," she said roughly. "His name is Sanguis. He's a bat," she pointed out, pretending Severus was dumb.
"I know it is a bat," he seethed. "What is it doing at the table?"
Aeowyn looked at Sanguis, then back at Severus. "Eating." She turned to Madame Hooch and introduced herself, engaging in a much more cordial conversation.
Dumbledore soon noticed Sanguis, too, as he crawled on top of her head. "I see you have brought a friend to the table, Aeowyn."
Aeowyn looked down the table to Dumbledore. "Yes, sir. When the students arrive, I won't bring him to the table, if you don't want me to."
Dumbledore waved his hand in the air and laughed. "Nonsense. Your friend is welcome to our table, as well. But, why, may I ask, a bat? I thought women found them disgusting."
Aeowyn pried Sanguis off her head and held him in her lap, tickling him under his chin so that Severus and Hooch could swear they heard the bat laugh. "He's been with me since I went to Hoxfords as a student. Sanguis has always been there for me, even when humans haven't," she said with a laugh, oppressing horrible memories that threatened to rise out of her chest. "I could never love any man as deeply as I love my bat!" she said with a big smile as she kissed Sanguis on the nose. He sneezed in response and the Professors, save one, joined her in a round of laughs. Aeowyn handed Sanguis another piece of bacon and he clung to it tightly, devouring it quickly. Severus rolled his eyes in disgust.
"I understand, Aeowyn, that you had a hard time finding Diagon Alley," Dumbledore stated.
Aeowyn laughed. "A very hard time indeed. Until this giant showed up. He nearly scared me into submission!" she joked. "Hagrid, I believe it was."
"You have nothing to fear from Hagrid," Madam Hooch, flying instructor, stated firmly. "He's about as a vicious as a marmot."
The door to the Dining Hall opened with a bang and all of the Professors turned to see who had entered. A man clad in dark blues robes made his way to the table where everyone sat. He had short red hair and bright blue eyes, making Severus swear to himself that the man before them was a Weasley. He had a light mustache covering his upper lip and a pencil thin goatee growing on his chin. The man had a tall, pointed hat on his head that matched his robes and a Hufflepuff emblem was embroidered on his robes at his left breast. "Good morning, all," he said with a pleasant smile. "I am Professor Farus Kaven."
Aeowyn put Sanguis on her shoulder and whispered to him, "Oh great; looks like another Narcissus to me." Aeowyn almost convinced herself she heard a chuckle come from Severus, but then dismissed that fact as quickly as it came.
"Ah!" Dumbledore proclaimed. "Our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! Welcome to Hogwarts! I believe you already know almost everyone here as you did attend school here as a Hufflepuff." Dumbledore motioned down the table to Severus. "This is Professor Severus Snape, Potions and Head of Slytherin House."
"Yes, so I've heard," he replied with smug arrogance as he looked at Severus. His eyes drifted to Aeowyn. "But this lovely… I do not know… Miss…?"
Aeowyn slumped down in her chair, threw an irritated look at Severus, then said without grace, "Aeowyn Sevor. Teacher of Charms."
"It is a pleasure to have such a beauty working amongst our staff," he said smoothly as he extended his hand to her, hoping to kiss hers in return.
Aeowyn smiled slyly and stood up, grabbing his hand as hard as she could and shook it roughly. "Pleased to meet you, Farus! I'm sure we'll get along quite all right! I mean, you must be Irish with that accent of yours and I'm Irish descent, as well! Actually, I'm half-English, half-Irish, but of course from a long line of muggles, mind you! You look like you come a muggle family yourself," she pointed out, knowing that would make him angry, "so I'm sure we have common grounds! We'll get along, you'll see."
Farus pretended to laugh and took his hand away from her. "I'm sure we will, Miss Aeowyn," he returned, obviously disgusted at her display.
Aeowyn turned to Dumbledore, her mock smile fading. "If you'll excuse me, Albus. I want to start work on the class room for the students." Without waiting for an answer, Aeowyn pushed her chair away and headed for the exit, but stopped halfway out of the room and ran back.
"Forget something?" Severus said coldly, but silkily.
Aeowyn twisted her mouth at him and grabbed a slice of bacon, handing it to Sanguis. "Good morning, all!" she said in singsong. With her good bye said, she ran out of the dining hall with an ecstatic Sanguis clinging to her back. The Professors could hear loud laughter echoing in the hallway.
Dumbledore laughed and turned to Minerva. "Quite a cheerful young woman. Spirited, as well." Dumbledore suddenly put on a face of complexion. "Curious. Hagrid mentioned that she had a stuttering problem…"