As promised, Hermione got the key back to Snape first thing in the morning. They spent a few minutes discussing the play, and then hurried along to the Great Hall for breakfast, conversing as they went. Several students gave them strange looks, but no one saw their reasons for being together as anything outrageously unusual; they were, after all, the director and assistant director of the school play. Hermione had gotten used to the looks, and they no longer bothered her. What did bother her, though, was Indira Nay. There was nothing inappropriate about her relationship with Snape - up until two weeks ago, she didn't even like him! What was with that woman and her suspicions, anyway?
"Which scenes are we doing today?" Snape asked as they approached the Great Hall.
"A run-through of the text's Act One," Hermione answered. "Tomorrow, I want to meet with the witches, and we'll work on their scenes."
He nodded in approval. "What are we going to do about the fight scenes?"
She cringed. "Oh, right, the fight scenes. I almost forgot about those. Is there anyone here who can choreograph a fight scene?"
Snape thought for a moment, then said, "You could talk to Professor McGonagall. She almost became an Auror after graduating from Hogwarts, and she's quite adept at combat."
"'Almost'?" Hermione repeated. "What did she do instead?"
"Played professional Quidditch," was his reply. "And this might surprise you, but Professor Lupin isn't bad at all. There's not a lot of fighting in Julius Caesar, but when there was fighting, he was the one who did the choreography, and it was very good."
"Okay. I'll be sure to talk to both of them sometime today."
"Tell you what. You talk to Professor Lupin, and I'll talk to Professor McGonagall. I'll be going that way."
Hermione was surprised by this gesture. "All right," she said. "Thank you. See you in Potions."
~~~
"I have to admit, up until then, I hated you," Minerva McGonagall confessed to Indira Nay as the two women wandered the halls of Hogwarts before classes began. The two were discussing an incident that took place shortly after Minerva's graduation that more or less forced them to cooperate; if they hadn't, both Albus Dumbledore and Armando Dippet would have died a most unpleasant death. "Albus was always telling me that you really were a good person, but it took quite some time before I was convinced."
The slightest hint of a smile appeared at the corners of Indira's mouth. "You weren't the only one," she said. "Do you have any idea how many people didn't believe Cora was my daughter?"
"No, but I can imagine. She didn't seem like you at all - at first, anyway." Minerva looked at Indira and said, "Do you think we would have believed it back in 1945 if someone said our lives were going to cross like they have?"
Indira shook her head. "Probably not, but if someone told me what was going to happen in 1945, I would never have believed them. No one saw that year coming."
"You've got that right." Minerva then noticed someone walking toward them. "Severus?"
"Minerva, Indira," Snape said, nodding and then falling into stride beside them.
"Is everything all right?" Minerva asked.
"Oh, yes," Snape returned. "I just needed to speak with you. It concerns the play."
"I'm listening."
"How would you feel about choreographing some fight scenes?"
Minerva stopped walking. Snape and Indira stopped after noticing that she had. "Fight scenes?" she repeated. "You want me to choreograph a fight scene?"
Snape nodded. "Yes. Would you be willing?"
"I'm honored, but I don't know if I'm the most qualified," Minerva said. "Have you spoken to Remus yet?"
"Miss Granger will be doing that when she has his class today."
"Remus Lupin?" Indira asked.
Both Snape and Minerva nodded. "He's the Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor," Minerva explained.
"Remus Lupin is the Defense Against the Dark Arts," Indira said thoughtfully. She blinked, then shrugged. "Ironic."
"You should go by the class sometime," Snape suggested. "I'm sure he'd like to see you."
"I think I will."
~~~
Hermione didn't have to wait long to speak to Lupin. The seventh-year Gryffindors had Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Ravenclaws right after Charms. Hermione, Ron, and Harry chatted amongst themselves as they walked through the school toward their next class, and for the first time in days, Hermione began to feel a little bit relaxed. The play was going well, she was getting along with the Slytherins, and if he agreed, they would have someone to choreograph the fight scenes. She liked Lupin a lot; he was one of her favorite teachers, and it would be interesting to see what he came up with for the play. It would also be interesting to see how he worked with Snape. She'd seen how they treated each other during her third year, and it wasn't pretty. However, one of the reasons Lupin had returned as a teacher was because Snape volunteered to make wolfsbane potion for him every month, which wouldn't stop the werewolf transformation, but would prevent him from being a danger to anyone. She didn't know why, but all of a sudden, he and Snape weren't as hostile toward each other anymore. Maybe Snape was on a nice streak.
Her good mood vanished, though, when they opened the door to the DADA classroom. Inside was Indira Nay herself, deep in conversation with Lupin. She fought back a gasp and got away from the door as fast as she could.
Ron and Harry exchanged a look. Ron asked the question on both of their minds. "Hermione, are you all right?"
Hermione pointed her finger at the door. "That woman is Satan."
Harry glanced back inside the room. "The one talking to Professor Lupin?"
Hermione nodded.
"She was the one we saw yesterday morning," Ron commented. "Indira Nay, right?"
Hermione nodded again. "Not in the legions of horrid hell can come a devil more damned in evils to top Indira Nay."
"Hey, that was one of my lines... kind of," Harry said. "Act Four, Scene Three." He paused, then said, "Oh, come on, she can't be that bad."
"Trust me," Hermione replied. "She can, and she is."
"What's gotten into her?" Ron whispered to Harry.
Harry shrugged. "Beats me."
"Could you two find out why she's here?" Hermione asked. "Please?"
"Oh, why not?" Harry said. "Come on, Ron."
They went inside the classroom and approached the front desk. Lupin smiled warmly at them. "Hi, you two," he said. "How's life?"
"Just fine," Ron replied.
"And how's the play coming along?"
"Great," Harry answered.
Indira studied the two boys for a moment, then asked, "Are you two in the play as well?"
Harry nodded. "Uh-huh. He's Lennox, and I'm Macduff."
"Who is Macbeth?"
"Neville Longbottom," Ron said. "Do you know him?"
"I knew his parents," was her soft reply, and that was all she need say.
"Ron, Harry, this is Indira Nay," Lupin said. "She was the Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor back when your parents and I were students. She'll be teaching the class today. Indira, these are two of my top students, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley."
Harry and Ron didn't see why Hermione was so afraid of Indira. She didn't seem bad at all. The way Hermione was going off, one would think Indira was worse than Filch. "Great," Harry said. "Nice to meet you, Professor Nay."
"Likewise, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley," she returned.
The boys excused themselves and went back out into the hall. Hermione was waiting for them. "Well?"
"Guest instructor," Ron said.
Hermione looked like she had just failed a test. "Oh, no," she groaned, and leaned against the wall for support. "O horror, horror, horror! Tongue nor heart cannot conceive nor name thee!"
"Hey, you said one of my lines again," Harry noticed.
Ron nudged Harry with his elbow and asked, "When every other thing she says is an allusion to Macbeth, is that a sign that she's working too hard?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah, I'd say so."
At that moment, they were joined by Neville, Seamus, and the Patil twins. "What's going on?" Padma asked.
"Satan is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts today," Hermione answered.
Seamus blinked, scratched his head, and said, "I thought you were starting to like Snape, Hermione."
"No, not Snape!" Hermione said. "Indira Nay."
"Who?" Neville and Seamus asked in unison.
"Indira Nay," Hermione said again. "She is Satan."
Harry was starting to become fed up with the whole Satan thing. "She's not Satan," he said.
"Hmph," Hermione said, and folded her arms across her chest. "You didn't see her interrogating me yesterday. And I bet she didn't give you a Death Stare, either."
"'Death Stare'?" Parvati repeated.
Hermione nodded. "Yeah. Her Death Stare makes Snape's look like Seamus when he puffs up his cheeks and wiggles his ears."
Seamus turned slightly red, and Harry, Ron, Neville, Parvati, and Padma chuckled.
Hermione sighed and sank down to the floor. "I'm doomed."
"Oh!" Padma exclaimed, and reached into her bookbag. "I saw Snape on the way over here, and he asked me to give you this." She pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Hermione. "Here."
Hermione thanked her and unfolded the paper. It was a note. "McGonagall has agreed to help with the choreography," it read. "Counting on you to talk to Lupin. And don't worry about Nay. No one understands her, not even Dippet. S.S."
"What does it say?" asked Ron.
Hermione folded it back up and slipped it into her pocket. "Play stuff," she answered. She stood up, tossed her head, and looked at the door to the classroom. Armed with new motivation, she said, "They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, but, bear-like, I must fight the course." She smiled at her friends, opened the door, and went inside.
"Hey," Neville said, "that was one of my lines."
~~~
There were still a few minutes left before class officially began, and Hermione figured that would be enough time to speak to Lupin about the play. Instead of taking her seat, she walked straight up to the front desk and did her best to not look at Indira. "Hi, Professor," she said. "Can I ask you a question?"
Lupin smiled at her. "Of course." He remembered Indira, and said, "Miss Granger, this is-"
"We've met," Hermione interrupted, giving Indira a fake smile.
The corners of Indira's mouth twitched upward into what could almost be called a grin.
Hermione gave Lupin her full attention and asked her question. "It's about the play," she said. "We need someone to choreograph the fight scenes, and Professor Snape said you were pretty good at that sort of thing. Would you be willing to help us out?"
"Of course," Lupin said without hesitation. "It would be my pleasure. Do you know who else you should ask? Professor McGonagall."
"Professor Snape has already spoken to her," Hermione said. "She's agreed."
"A student director and fight scenes choreographed by Remus Lupin and Minerva McGonagall," Indira said. She and Hermione made eye contact. "This should be interesting."
"Yes, Professor Nay," Hermione said. "It will be quite interesting."
"Which scenes are we doing today?" Snape asked as they approached the Great Hall.
"A run-through of the text's Act One," Hermione answered. "Tomorrow, I want to meet with the witches, and we'll work on their scenes."
He nodded in approval. "What are we going to do about the fight scenes?"
She cringed. "Oh, right, the fight scenes. I almost forgot about those. Is there anyone here who can choreograph a fight scene?"
Snape thought for a moment, then said, "You could talk to Professor McGonagall. She almost became an Auror after graduating from Hogwarts, and she's quite adept at combat."
"'Almost'?" Hermione repeated. "What did she do instead?"
"Played professional Quidditch," was his reply. "And this might surprise you, but Professor Lupin isn't bad at all. There's not a lot of fighting in Julius Caesar, but when there was fighting, he was the one who did the choreography, and it was very good."
"Okay. I'll be sure to talk to both of them sometime today."
"Tell you what. You talk to Professor Lupin, and I'll talk to Professor McGonagall. I'll be going that way."
Hermione was surprised by this gesture. "All right," she said. "Thank you. See you in Potions."
~~~
"I have to admit, up until then, I hated you," Minerva McGonagall confessed to Indira Nay as the two women wandered the halls of Hogwarts before classes began. The two were discussing an incident that took place shortly after Minerva's graduation that more or less forced them to cooperate; if they hadn't, both Albus Dumbledore and Armando Dippet would have died a most unpleasant death. "Albus was always telling me that you really were a good person, but it took quite some time before I was convinced."
The slightest hint of a smile appeared at the corners of Indira's mouth. "You weren't the only one," she said. "Do you have any idea how many people didn't believe Cora was my daughter?"
"No, but I can imagine. She didn't seem like you at all - at first, anyway." Minerva looked at Indira and said, "Do you think we would have believed it back in 1945 if someone said our lives were going to cross like they have?"
Indira shook her head. "Probably not, but if someone told me what was going to happen in 1945, I would never have believed them. No one saw that year coming."
"You've got that right." Minerva then noticed someone walking toward them. "Severus?"
"Minerva, Indira," Snape said, nodding and then falling into stride beside them.
"Is everything all right?" Minerva asked.
"Oh, yes," Snape returned. "I just needed to speak with you. It concerns the play."
"I'm listening."
"How would you feel about choreographing some fight scenes?"
Minerva stopped walking. Snape and Indira stopped after noticing that she had. "Fight scenes?" she repeated. "You want me to choreograph a fight scene?"
Snape nodded. "Yes. Would you be willing?"
"I'm honored, but I don't know if I'm the most qualified," Minerva said. "Have you spoken to Remus yet?"
"Miss Granger will be doing that when she has his class today."
"Remus Lupin?" Indira asked.
Both Snape and Minerva nodded. "He's the Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor," Minerva explained.
"Remus Lupin is the Defense Against the Dark Arts," Indira said thoughtfully. She blinked, then shrugged. "Ironic."
"You should go by the class sometime," Snape suggested. "I'm sure he'd like to see you."
"I think I will."
~~~
Hermione didn't have to wait long to speak to Lupin. The seventh-year Gryffindors had Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Ravenclaws right after Charms. Hermione, Ron, and Harry chatted amongst themselves as they walked through the school toward their next class, and for the first time in days, Hermione began to feel a little bit relaxed. The play was going well, she was getting along with the Slytherins, and if he agreed, they would have someone to choreograph the fight scenes. She liked Lupin a lot; he was one of her favorite teachers, and it would be interesting to see what he came up with for the play. It would also be interesting to see how he worked with Snape. She'd seen how they treated each other during her third year, and it wasn't pretty. However, one of the reasons Lupin had returned as a teacher was because Snape volunteered to make wolfsbane potion for him every month, which wouldn't stop the werewolf transformation, but would prevent him from being a danger to anyone. She didn't know why, but all of a sudden, he and Snape weren't as hostile toward each other anymore. Maybe Snape was on a nice streak.
Her good mood vanished, though, when they opened the door to the DADA classroom. Inside was Indira Nay herself, deep in conversation with Lupin. She fought back a gasp and got away from the door as fast as she could.
Ron and Harry exchanged a look. Ron asked the question on both of their minds. "Hermione, are you all right?"
Hermione pointed her finger at the door. "That woman is Satan."
Harry glanced back inside the room. "The one talking to Professor Lupin?"
Hermione nodded.
"She was the one we saw yesterday morning," Ron commented. "Indira Nay, right?"
Hermione nodded again. "Not in the legions of horrid hell can come a devil more damned in evils to top Indira Nay."
"Hey, that was one of my lines... kind of," Harry said. "Act Four, Scene Three." He paused, then said, "Oh, come on, she can't be that bad."
"Trust me," Hermione replied. "She can, and she is."
"What's gotten into her?" Ron whispered to Harry.
Harry shrugged. "Beats me."
"Could you two find out why she's here?" Hermione asked. "Please?"
"Oh, why not?" Harry said. "Come on, Ron."
They went inside the classroom and approached the front desk. Lupin smiled warmly at them. "Hi, you two," he said. "How's life?"
"Just fine," Ron replied.
"And how's the play coming along?"
"Great," Harry answered.
Indira studied the two boys for a moment, then asked, "Are you two in the play as well?"
Harry nodded. "Uh-huh. He's Lennox, and I'm Macduff."
"Who is Macbeth?"
"Neville Longbottom," Ron said. "Do you know him?"
"I knew his parents," was her soft reply, and that was all she need say.
"Ron, Harry, this is Indira Nay," Lupin said. "She was the Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor back when your parents and I were students. She'll be teaching the class today. Indira, these are two of my top students, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley."
Harry and Ron didn't see why Hermione was so afraid of Indira. She didn't seem bad at all. The way Hermione was going off, one would think Indira was worse than Filch. "Great," Harry said. "Nice to meet you, Professor Nay."
"Likewise, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley," she returned.
The boys excused themselves and went back out into the hall. Hermione was waiting for them. "Well?"
"Guest instructor," Ron said.
Hermione looked like she had just failed a test. "Oh, no," she groaned, and leaned against the wall for support. "O horror, horror, horror! Tongue nor heart cannot conceive nor name thee!"
"Hey, you said one of my lines again," Harry noticed.
Ron nudged Harry with his elbow and asked, "When every other thing she says is an allusion to Macbeth, is that a sign that she's working too hard?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah, I'd say so."
At that moment, they were joined by Neville, Seamus, and the Patil twins. "What's going on?" Padma asked.
"Satan is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts today," Hermione answered.
Seamus blinked, scratched his head, and said, "I thought you were starting to like Snape, Hermione."
"No, not Snape!" Hermione said. "Indira Nay."
"Who?" Neville and Seamus asked in unison.
"Indira Nay," Hermione said again. "She is Satan."
Harry was starting to become fed up with the whole Satan thing. "She's not Satan," he said.
"Hmph," Hermione said, and folded her arms across her chest. "You didn't see her interrogating me yesterday. And I bet she didn't give you a Death Stare, either."
"'Death Stare'?" Parvati repeated.
Hermione nodded. "Yeah. Her Death Stare makes Snape's look like Seamus when he puffs up his cheeks and wiggles his ears."
Seamus turned slightly red, and Harry, Ron, Neville, Parvati, and Padma chuckled.
Hermione sighed and sank down to the floor. "I'm doomed."
"Oh!" Padma exclaimed, and reached into her bookbag. "I saw Snape on the way over here, and he asked me to give you this." She pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Hermione. "Here."
Hermione thanked her and unfolded the paper. It was a note. "McGonagall has agreed to help with the choreography," it read. "Counting on you to talk to Lupin. And don't worry about Nay. No one understands her, not even Dippet. S.S."
"What does it say?" asked Ron.
Hermione folded it back up and slipped it into her pocket. "Play stuff," she answered. She stood up, tossed her head, and looked at the door to the classroom. Armed with new motivation, she said, "They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, but, bear-like, I must fight the course." She smiled at her friends, opened the door, and went inside.
"Hey," Neville said, "that was one of my lines."
~~~
There were still a few minutes left before class officially began, and Hermione figured that would be enough time to speak to Lupin about the play. Instead of taking her seat, she walked straight up to the front desk and did her best to not look at Indira. "Hi, Professor," she said. "Can I ask you a question?"
Lupin smiled at her. "Of course." He remembered Indira, and said, "Miss Granger, this is-"
"We've met," Hermione interrupted, giving Indira a fake smile.
The corners of Indira's mouth twitched upward into what could almost be called a grin.
Hermione gave Lupin her full attention and asked her question. "It's about the play," she said. "We need someone to choreograph the fight scenes, and Professor Snape said you were pretty good at that sort of thing. Would you be willing to help us out?"
"Of course," Lupin said without hesitation. "It would be my pleasure. Do you know who else you should ask? Professor McGonagall."
"Professor Snape has already spoken to her," Hermione said. "She's agreed."
"A student director and fight scenes choreographed by Remus Lupin and Minerva McGonagall," Indira said. She and Hermione made eye contact. "This should be interesting."
"Yes, Professor Nay," Hermione said. "It will be quite interesting."