Chapter Six

Student Perspective

Alex was elated when she found out that she'd have double Defense the first day just before lunch, anxious to see what it was like to sit in a class with one of her parents teaching.

Her first class, however, was Charms with Professor Weasley. She was a cheerful, enthusiastic woman; her light brown hair ever escaping her bun and falling in every which direction. A subtle charm kept it at bay, the strands of hair often seeming to pick themselves up and put themselves back into place, only to escape again a little while later. Alex couldn't help but grin a bit. Even magic couldn't do everything.

Books lined three walls of the classroom, the other wall spared only because of the doors into the classroom and doors to the left and right which led to her office and the Newsroom respectively. Alex had already heard that Weasley supervised the school's newspaper, the Veritable Wizard, and Alex had already made plans to make a good enough impression to get on the paper itself. She also found it rather ironic that Weasley still ran it, considering that her husband was now the editor of the Daily Prophet, which from time to time had proven to be a rival source of information.

"Good morning, everyone! Welcome to Charms, first year. I am Professor Weasley, and I am here to teach you the fundamentals of casting, using your wand, and many of the practical spells you'll use every day. Of course, there should be time to learn some fun spells too," she added with a smile. "So, how many of you have read the first chapter yet?" Most of the students looked quite surprised. But several, including Alex and Mandria, raised their hands proudly in the air.

"Chapter two?" the professor asked, and several more hands went down. "Three?" Alex's hand went down this time and she glanced at the few who were left. "Half the book?" All but Mandria's went down that time. Professor Weasley turned to Mandria with growing interest. "All of the book?" Mandria slowly put her hand down. Weasley let out a short sigh. "Oh well, good try. From now on, I'd like all of you to read one chapter ahead of the lesson. This will help orient you with the direction this class will take you over the year, and I hope you'll also see, as you begin to practice the spells, how one skill leads into the next.

"Of course, you oughtn't try anything you've read on your own," she added almost as an afterthought. "But I expect everyone to come prepared for what we'll be discussing. Today, however, it really doesn't matter too much, because we're going to spend the day learning to hold wands properly. And tomorrow, we're going over some basic rules of phonetics and enunciation that you might not have covered in primary school. So those of you who haven't will have plenty of time to read the first chapter before we continue."

"When are we going to actually get around to casting a spell?" asked Theodore Gaffney, a Gryffindor. Alex couldn't help but nod, because she was wondering the same thing herself.

"After you've learned how to hold your wand and speak properly," Weasley said in return. "And would you please hold your hand up in the future? Thank you," she added, getting out her wand. Alex propped her hand on her head and prepared for a long class, only to be told to sit up straight so she could move her arm properly. It was rather tedious just sitting and making motions and shapes in the air with her wand without actually doing anything, but it gave Alex a good opportunity to study the rest of the class.

Weasley, it seemed, had a very keen eye when someone didn't have the knack of a movement, heading straight over to whoever it was and helping them get it right. Despite her demands for perfection, she was very patient with each student she stopped to assist, having the rest of the class practice the next movement until she was ready and then going over the next. Alex's wrist felt a little weak by the end of class and took to rubbing it. If they were going to get this much of a workout 'enunciating' as 'swishing and flicking,' she hoped they would at least be allowed to get drinks of water before the end of class.

The next classroom, Defense, seemed very traditional at first glance despite the fact that it was dim and rather stuffy. The windows had been drawn closed and long, heavy drapes muffled even the chance that either breeze or light might slip by them. Drippy candles from a large tarnished chandelier were the only light sources, and the shadows from the flickering candles playing against the walls and made for… in Alex's opinion, a delightfully creepy atmosphere. She and Mandria quickly chose seats near the back beside each other, getting out their books while still talking about the last class. Many of the other students weren't, however. They were looking between the slightly cracked door to the office and the door to the classroom nervously, their mouths clamped after hearing a number of horror stories from their upper classmates.

Mandria, encouraged by her new friend's reassurances, sat patiently waiting next to her for class to start, letting Alex prattle on without really having much idea what she was talking about. Suddenly every candle seemed to snuff out at once and they were plunged into darkness. Before anyone could really make a sound, something began to move around their feet.

"Don't move!" Alex hissed in Mandria's ear, hardly audible above the screams around them. But try as she might, Mandria began to imagine spiders, snakes and scorpions crawling up her legs. She let out a yelp, clambering quickly on top of the table.

A moment later, the candles jumped to life brighter than before and the students looked up, down and around from where they were cowering to see Professor Severus Snape standing before them. His arms were crossed and an intense look of displeasure was on his face as he looked across the room to see who had sense enough to stay put. The only one still in her seat was Alex, who had her wand in hand but otherwise hadn't made a move.

"Get to your seats. Now!" he snapped in a tone Alex never heard before. In fact, he sounded to her more like her mother after her patience had run out with Aurelius.

The other students scrambled to their seats, and Mandria looking a bit embarrassed as she did. He then began to scowl at where they were sitting and then began ordering several of the students to move, usually with a pointed finger, sometimes referring to a parchment for names until they were seated according to house and alphabetically. Fortunately for Alex, this still put Mandria right next to her since "Snape" followed "Shea", so in the end they only ended up having to move one seat over before he was satisfied.

It was as he was finishing up on this and had gone to take a position in front of the class that another student, Paul Fischer from Hufflepuff, dashed through the door and into an empty seat, earning a look of focused scrutiny from the professor.

"Mr. Fischer," Snape said in a crisp, unfriendly tone. "Was the door of this classroom open or shut when you decided to barge into this classroom ten minutes late?"

"Er, I suppose it was closed, sir," he answered, glancing over at the open door.

"So why isn't it now?" he asked testily. Paul stood up cautiously to go close it. "I did not give you permission to get up!" Snape barked at him, and he immediately sat down again, wide-eyed. "I don't know how they do things at your old school, Fischer, but at Hogwarts we practice some level of discipline. I expect to come in to my classes with everyone in their seats, facing forward, silent, and on time every single day, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"And asking permission to speak before doing so!" he snarled, standing over him.

"Excuse me, sir, but how can we ask permission to speak if we're not allowed to speak?" Fischer quipped.

"You think you're so smart, don't you, Fischer? Well, we'll see how you are up against Bogwights and Shrieks later on. Your cocky attitude has now earned you the 'honor' of being my primary volunteer for the rest of the year. And I think you've lost your house ten points, one for every minute you were late, and ten more points for talking back to a professor. Now go close that door!" he snapped, watching as the boy flew to the door, half tempted to run out of it. Gathering his wits, Paul slammed it instead; hopelessly aware of the black, beady eyes watching him as he returned to his seat.

"And you'll be staying twenty minutes after class with me to remind you the importance of being prompt," Snape added before storming up to the front of the class again, pushing back his high collared cloak and squinting out at the students. Never once did he make eye contact with Alex, but Alex had no doubt he had made contact with every other student.

"You are here to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts, although at this point I'm not sure that most of you can even defend against yourselves," Snape said with a look that breached utter distaste. "You will either learn Defense, or you'll die trying. If you want to titter over reading books or fuss over a mark on a paper, I'm sure Professor Weasley will be happy to entertain you," he sneered, looking directly at the Ravenclaw portion of the class. "But in here, you are expected not only to commit to the knowledge of your foes, but also mastering control over your instincts and wits… if you have any," he added dubiously. "So be prepared for a very grueling class, for the world beyond this one is far worse than anything I can throw at you. You will learn this material, one way or the other, even if I have to kill you," he stated grimly. The class stared at him, the room deadening into a disquieting silence.

Jennifer had just settled at her desk after her last class before lunch when a frantic knock sounded on her office door and she waved it open. Alex hurried in with Mandria close behind, looking terribly serious. Jennifer read Mandria at once, growing rather surprised at what the girl was thinking.

"Mu… Professor Craw…" Alex stammered, out of breath. "Something's terribly wrong with Father! I mean, Professor Snape. I think he's been kidnapped or something and he's been replaced by something awful!" she said frantically.

Jennifer began to laugh and quickly got herself under control, attempting to look very serious.

"Alex, I understand why you might be a bit concerned, but I assure you, I would know if he'd been replaced. Most Truth Seekers can see through polymorphs of any kind. They wouldn't be able to do something like replace Professor Snape without my knowing it," Jennifer explained gently.

"But I've never seen him act like this before. There must be something dreadfully wrong!" Alex insisted. Jennifer smiled sympathetically at her, and then glanced towards her friend and back.

"Well, you're right about one thing. You haven't seen him act like this before because you haven't seen Professor Snape," Jennifer said. "Alex, you knew coming into this school that you would be treated like any other student and that we should be treated as just your professors. But I will give you a bit of advice as your house advisor," Jennifer continued, leaning forward with her arms on her desk. "Do what you are told in class…within reason… and always be respectful if you want to survive that course. Well, you should be respectful to all your professors in any case for that matter," she added, "not that I have any doubt that you will be."

Jennifer suddenly looked up as Severus walked casually into the office. He stopped short when he saw Alex, looking at her eye to eye for the first time since she had come to the school.

"What is she doing here?" he asked accusingly.

"I happen to be both of their advisors," Jennifer said firmly back. "And I happened to be advising them. Alright, girls, best head to lunch while you can."

"Yes, Professor Craw," Mandria answered quickly, followed less enthusiastically by Alex. Alex looked up at her father to find him still eyeing her warily, his arms folded. She frowned back at him, finally walking out the door that Severus quickly closed behind her.

"So how was your first morning?" Jennifer asked him casually.

"I assumed you just heard all about it," he said irritably, but Jennifer shook her head. "Very well, considering. Sorry I was held up, but I had to detain a student for being late," Severus grumbled at the inconvenience. "So, what did Alex want?"

"Since when are you concerned about student's needs outside of Slytherin house?" Jennifer challenged him. "Or did you have some unexpected trouble with her class today?" Severus blinked at her in surprise.

"I don't have 'trouble' with my classes, as you well know," Severus said indignantly. "Everything went just as expected, and in turn they know what's expected of them."

"Well, you do have to admit, your professional style might seem a bit shocking to someone who's seen you with your guard down," Jennifer said, gazing at him. Severus drew himself up and squinted at her; his eyes letting her know just how fervently he was about to argue how he never let his guard down.

"You," he said with a very controlled pause, "are trying to bait me."

"Why Severus, would I ever do something like that?" Jennifer asked, feigning surprise.

"You have been doing that, as I recall, since the very first time I had occasion to strike up a conversation with you," he pointed out. "Ever since the first day of your own classes when, as I also recall, you had quite a bit of trouble handling them."

"I got it straightened out without your interference," Jennifer said defensively. But then she got a good look at his face as a thin smile began to form, her own expression turning into angry surprise. "You said something to them that day, didn't you? When I went out of the classroom to deal with the two brawlers, you said something to the class!"

"Yes, well, I thought a firm hand might be in order, considering the circumstances," Severus said calmly. "Looking back on it, even you must admit you were a bit lost, coming from an assistant teaching position and at that age…"

"A fine gesture considering that you probably protested my appointment to begin with…." Jennifer snapped, and then wrestled some control over her anger when she noticed the sinister smile on Severus' face widening. "Now, who's baiting who?" she finished, slightly flustered at being caught.

"Of course you're correct, Jennifer, both about the baiting and the protest to your appointment. As usual, my objections went unheard, as Dumbledore saw fit to hire you anyhow," Severus mused, looking down at his wife with a gentler expression. "In fact, it is probably one of the only times I found few reasons to justify my objections afterwards."

"I suppose it's a good thing Dumbledore didn't listen to you, then," Jennifer teased.

"Yes," Severus agreed in a low voice, stepping nearer and leaning over to kiss her. It was just then that there was a knock on the door and Severus growled low in his throat in irritation as he straightened up. "I thought the advantage to coming back at work was that we weren't going to get interrupted quite so often."

"We should be getting to lunch anyhow," Jennifer chuckled, slipping away to answer the door. It was Minerva, her smile turning slightly apologetic when she saw Severus glaring at her.

"Sorry to disturb your lunch, but Professor Dumbledore wanted me to ask you if you could escort Auror Belle up to his office at around four-thirty, Jennifer. She and Alastor are looking into the diamond murders… apparently there's been another incident."

"Another one?" Jennifer repeated. "Any details yet?"

"I don't know much yet, but it involved someone in the States in Judge Vallid's office," Minerva replied, earning a look of alarm from Jennifer. "Oh, don't worry. Judge Vallid is quite all right from what I understand. I'm sure we'll learn more once Audi arrives."

Jennifer nodded, her thoughts wandering. She had met both Audacious Belle and Lunette Vallid ten years ago. Audacious, or Audi for short, had volunteered to teach Jennifer how to fine tune her abilities to read other's faces to a fine point in preparation for obtaining a Truth Seeker's license, which she never ended up getting. That was in part due to the talk she had with fellow Truth Seeker, Judge Vallid.

Lunette Vallid was quite a remarkable person in and of herself, someone who many considered the most powerful witch in the western hemisphere; and not because of any measure of her magic… so seldom had she used her Dark powers that few had even seen her cast any. Instead, it was her influences in courts in both Magic and Muggle and her infallible Truth Seeking that earned her the reputation, and many… perhaps too many for Vallid's liking… often sought her for advice. And now she too was involved? And not only that, the murders hae spread out to hit someone in another continent? Jennifer had a curious sensation, like the wafting of a scent that fades too quickly to be recognized. She heard Severus' voice calling for her and shook herself out of it, nodding to Minerva and following them towards the staff room. It was going to be difficult keeping her mind on her afternoon classes while waiting to find out more.

Several of Alex's fellow Ravenclaws got up and moved away when she and Mandria sat down for lunch, eyeing her warily from where they bunched up at the end of the table. The older students filled in between uncomplainingly, but the glares finally got the better of Alex.

"What did I do?" she demanded, loud enough to be heard down the table. Several of the older students looking between each other with slight amusement.

"You kept your seat," Ralph Waldo said curtly from where he sat with the rest of the first years.

"So what?" Alex challenged.

"So don't you think it's a coincidence that the only one in the whole class that seemed unsurprised about the professor's tactics was his daughter?" he asked in return.

"Believe me, you have no idea just how surprised I was," Alex said, slumping back in her seat. "Look, the only reason I kept my seat was a bit of logical reasoning, something that if any of you had taken into consideration before panicking I'm sure you'd have come to the same conclusions I had. We entered a room that was obviously creepy-looking and very dim, and it was pretty obvious from the start that something interesting was going to happen. What, did you really think that some evil force would get past all the famous Hogwarts security, turned the lights out in a classroom just for fun, and then somehow managed to get hundreds of creatures in the room without getting one professor alarmed? Please, be sensible. Don't blame me for your gullibility!"

"All right, we can do without the back and forth if you don't mind," one of the older boys, a lanky, freckle-faced boy with large glasses named Kirk Havershaw and a Ravenclaw prefect, looked between the two feuding parties with a face as stern as McGonagall's. "Besides, others are starting to notice," he added, looking at the turned heads over at the Slytherin table. "I'm sure if Alex knew of her father's schemes, she'd at least have warned her friend before going in, so if she had known, there'd have been two sitting in place, not one," he pointed out. Mandria decided not to mention the fact that Alex tried to warn her in class when the other first years started to talk it over. "Now let's end this nonsense. It's not good to be showing signs of inner house turmoil when it's only the first day of class."

The other first year students grew quiet and they did stop glaring at Alex, so she and Mandria were able to settle down and concentrate on lunch. For a change, Alex didn't feel much like talking. She was too busy attempting to face the fact that perhaps all of the off hand remarks older kids had made to her at the park and on the train about her father had been somewhat justified. But he wasn't like that… not really! And why was it, she wondered, that Corey and his sister Essie always said that Snape was their favorite teacher?