Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or his world, though after this
weekend (yes, I stood in line for the new book!), I wish I did. However, it
all belongs to JKR, save for Adelaide, who crawled out of my brain. Don't
sue, please!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adelaide pushed the door open, and the staff lounge appeared before her. Looking somewhat pale, she stepped into the room silently, taking a seat in the chair closest to the door. A short witch with flyaway gray hair and a patched-up hat smiled at Addy kindly. She leaned over, so they were close enough to speak.
"Don't look so frightened dear. I'm Cinnia Sprout, the professor of herbology."
Addy's face lit up immediately. "Oh! I read your article on gillyweed last year. It was incredible, especially in the aftermath of the tournament!"
She was so deep in conversation with Sprout that when her only true acquaintance walked in, she didn't realize it.
"Ladies and gentlemen. Please."
Dumbledore called for attention.
"It is a delight to see you all again, healthy and happy."
A few chuckles drifted out of the gathered professors. Probably at someone's expense.
"Classes start in a week, as you all know. There have been a few minor changes this year. We will be having a Yule ball as well as a Valentine's Day ball, as long as circumstances permit. We can only hope this year goes as smoothly as possible."
A few snorts echoed around the room, and Sprout and another short witch exchanged dubious looks. Addy's mouth twisted into a wry smile. When was the last time Hogwarts had had a 'smooth' year? Probably the year before Potter started.
"And.." Dumbledore's voice brought her back to the present.
"We have a new professor this year. I would like to introduce Lady Adelaide Gentry, our new Ancient Runes teacher."
Adelaide stood slowly while the other professors clapped. Cue the blushing and fumbling.
"Thank you Headmaster. But I've asked you to simply call me Adelaide, or Miss Gentry if you must. My title is only for formal occasions."
A snort of amusement sounded from beside the fireplaces. The moment her eyes settled on the source of the snort, Adelaide stilled like a rabbit sighted by a fox. Don't move, he can't see you. [Severus Snape. You knew he'd be here. Act normal. NOW!], she thought to herself. Adelaide blinked, and forced herself to relax. But not before a few of the professors exchanged curious looks. Addy dipped her head, and sat down quickly. The rest of the meeting passed quickly, but every once in awhile she would summon the courage to look in his direction. Snape had his eyes firmly planted on Dumbledore, a cup of tea left forgotten in his hands.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The moment the meeting was concluded, Snape escaped from the lounge. HE had walked into the meeting just before it started, wanting to spend as little time with the others as possible. Work still needed to be done before the students arrived, and if he spent any more time than necessary at the meeting, no doubt Sprout or Pomfrey or someone equally as annoying and nosey would try to converse with him. Or, Merlin forbid, Sybill Trelawny would corner him. But the last thing he had expected was to see Adelaide Gentry sitting in a chair, conversing animatedly with Sprout. He'd nearly missed a step, but not quite. It would take far more than a random Death Eater in the staff lounge at Hogwarts to publically surprise him. Seeing her finally spy him when Dumbledore introduced her had amused him faintly, and annoyed him a great deal more. She always had been bad at covering her true emotions- though she was worse than normal here. Perhaps because she thought them stupider than her fellow Death Eaters? Or perhaps less dangerous? He was certainly the first person out of the meeting, but Snape waited until Adelaide left the room, and head for her own rooms.
"Well, well."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, well."
The silky voice came out of the shadows of the dark hall. Adelaide's stomach dropped in fear while things lower in her body tightened at the sound of the voice. Snape. Suddenly a hand was at her throat, pinning her to the wall. Adelaide looked up into Snape's dark eyes with annoyance on her face, even though she was more than a bit frightened.
"Severus."
She managed to get out his name before his grip tightened, making starts appear before her eyes.
"Adelaide."
He loosened his hold on her, his hand still around her throat. It wouldn't do to have her pass out before he could get answers.
"What are you doing here, little Death Eater? Does our Dark Lord know you're here? Does Lucius?"
Annoyance sparked within Adelaide, and she let it show in her eyes. The panic flared seconds later, but she kept it under tight wraps.
"Of course he does," she hissed. "Keep your voice down. He thinks it's a good idea, having two of us here. And yes, Lucius knows I'm here. I'm to make friends with everyone who hates you-which is most of the school, including Potter and his precious Gryffindors."
Snape let go of her neck, suspicious of her immediately and certainly not believing a word she had said.
"And so you let Lucius pull strings and get you on staff. And of course, that won't raise suspicions."
Adelaide snorted, and narrowed her eyes at him. If he thought her stupid, she would have to correct that misunderstanding.
"I may be the youngest of the first Death Eater wave Severus, but most of you equate that with stupidity. No. I made quite sure that our Lord forbade Malfoy from getting me anywhere. I got here because I know Runes, and because I know the Ministry wants to get it's hands on the volumes in the Gentry library. They want me happy, and I have the talent to give them that excuse."
Snape narrowed his eyes at her, allowing a look of understanding to pass between them, and turned on his heel to stalk down the hall, dark robes billowing behind him. Adelaide stayed where she was long enough to watch him disappear down the hall towards the dungeons, the darkness swallowing him whole. She resumed her walk towards her rooms, suddenly very weary but faintly amused. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[A/N: Thank you to Greenie once again for her help and inspiration, and to Nerys and Rich who beta for me, whether they like it or not. Please R&R. And yes, the chapters are getting longer and better. I'll beef up the first three chapters soon. It won't be absolutely terrible forever! -Aidenn]
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adelaide pushed the door open, and the staff lounge appeared before her. Looking somewhat pale, she stepped into the room silently, taking a seat in the chair closest to the door. A short witch with flyaway gray hair and a patched-up hat smiled at Addy kindly. She leaned over, so they were close enough to speak.
"Don't look so frightened dear. I'm Cinnia Sprout, the professor of herbology."
Addy's face lit up immediately. "Oh! I read your article on gillyweed last year. It was incredible, especially in the aftermath of the tournament!"
She was so deep in conversation with Sprout that when her only true acquaintance walked in, she didn't realize it.
"Ladies and gentlemen. Please."
Dumbledore called for attention.
"It is a delight to see you all again, healthy and happy."
A few chuckles drifted out of the gathered professors. Probably at someone's expense.
"Classes start in a week, as you all know. There have been a few minor changes this year. We will be having a Yule ball as well as a Valentine's Day ball, as long as circumstances permit. We can only hope this year goes as smoothly as possible."
A few snorts echoed around the room, and Sprout and another short witch exchanged dubious looks. Addy's mouth twisted into a wry smile. When was the last time Hogwarts had had a 'smooth' year? Probably the year before Potter started.
"And.." Dumbledore's voice brought her back to the present.
"We have a new professor this year. I would like to introduce Lady Adelaide Gentry, our new Ancient Runes teacher."
Adelaide stood slowly while the other professors clapped. Cue the blushing and fumbling.
"Thank you Headmaster. But I've asked you to simply call me Adelaide, or Miss Gentry if you must. My title is only for formal occasions."
A snort of amusement sounded from beside the fireplaces. The moment her eyes settled on the source of the snort, Adelaide stilled like a rabbit sighted by a fox. Don't move, he can't see you. [Severus Snape. You knew he'd be here. Act normal. NOW!], she thought to herself. Adelaide blinked, and forced herself to relax. But not before a few of the professors exchanged curious looks. Addy dipped her head, and sat down quickly. The rest of the meeting passed quickly, but every once in awhile she would summon the courage to look in his direction. Snape had his eyes firmly planted on Dumbledore, a cup of tea left forgotten in his hands.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The moment the meeting was concluded, Snape escaped from the lounge. HE had walked into the meeting just before it started, wanting to spend as little time with the others as possible. Work still needed to be done before the students arrived, and if he spent any more time than necessary at the meeting, no doubt Sprout or Pomfrey or someone equally as annoying and nosey would try to converse with him. Or, Merlin forbid, Sybill Trelawny would corner him. But the last thing he had expected was to see Adelaide Gentry sitting in a chair, conversing animatedly with Sprout. He'd nearly missed a step, but not quite. It would take far more than a random Death Eater in the staff lounge at Hogwarts to publically surprise him. Seeing her finally spy him when Dumbledore introduced her had amused him faintly, and annoyed him a great deal more. She always had been bad at covering her true emotions- though she was worse than normal here. Perhaps because she thought them stupider than her fellow Death Eaters? Or perhaps less dangerous? He was certainly the first person out of the meeting, but Snape waited until Adelaide left the room, and head for her own rooms.
"Well, well."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, well."
The silky voice came out of the shadows of the dark hall. Adelaide's stomach dropped in fear while things lower in her body tightened at the sound of the voice. Snape. Suddenly a hand was at her throat, pinning her to the wall. Adelaide looked up into Snape's dark eyes with annoyance on her face, even though she was more than a bit frightened.
"Severus."
She managed to get out his name before his grip tightened, making starts appear before her eyes.
"Adelaide."
He loosened his hold on her, his hand still around her throat. It wouldn't do to have her pass out before he could get answers.
"What are you doing here, little Death Eater? Does our Dark Lord know you're here? Does Lucius?"
Annoyance sparked within Adelaide, and she let it show in her eyes. The panic flared seconds later, but she kept it under tight wraps.
"Of course he does," she hissed. "Keep your voice down. He thinks it's a good idea, having two of us here. And yes, Lucius knows I'm here. I'm to make friends with everyone who hates you-which is most of the school, including Potter and his precious Gryffindors."
Snape let go of her neck, suspicious of her immediately and certainly not believing a word she had said.
"And so you let Lucius pull strings and get you on staff. And of course, that won't raise suspicions."
Adelaide snorted, and narrowed her eyes at him. If he thought her stupid, she would have to correct that misunderstanding.
"I may be the youngest of the first Death Eater wave Severus, but most of you equate that with stupidity. No. I made quite sure that our Lord forbade Malfoy from getting me anywhere. I got here because I know Runes, and because I know the Ministry wants to get it's hands on the volumes in the Gentry library. They want me happy, and I have the talent to give them that excuse."
Snape narrowed his eyes at her, allowing a look of understanding to pass between them, and turned on his heel to stalk down the hall, dark robes billowing behind him. Adelaide stayed where she was long enough to watch him disappear down the hall towards the dungeons, the darkness swallowing him whole. She resumed her walk towards her rooms, suddenly very weary but faintly amused. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[A/N: Thank you to Greenie once again for her help and inspiration, and to Nerys and Rich who beta for me, whether they like it or not. Please R&R. And yes, the chapters are getting longer and better. I'll beef up the first three chapters soon. It won't be absolutely terrible forever! -Aidenn]
