Francesnichole – with the war raging on, McGonogall thought that she needed more time to help ALL of here students, rather than just the Gryffindors, so she quit her positions except for her Deputy Headmistress, allowing her more time to do just that. Thanks muchly for the kind review!
Raya – you rock chickiness, don't let ff.net get ya down. Your story rocks, btw and thanks for the fantabulous review!!!
Meltwo – Thanks!
Brendan – Thanks! Sore wa... HIMITSU DESU!!!
Obolour – I'm not sure that it's really a case of wanting to prove herself, rather, remember that the Slytherins are mostly snobby arses and maybe she doesn't really want to associate herself with that, or it could be that she doesn't want to be tagged in the same way her mother was. A good guess as to her Uncle... not right... but it's great to see someone having a go at guessing where my story is going. Only 3 people know the secrets in this story, and out of them, only 1 (me!) knows the full extent of those mysteries. MWAHAHAHAHA. Thanks for the really kind review!
Ok, I've started up a mailing list to let all of my readers know when updates are available! The addy is so feel free to join up! Any questions and stuff can be posted there too if you like!
Ya ya... I didn't get enough reviews, but life sucks like that. If you read this, could u PLEASE review? Even if it's just a quick note to say "your story sux!!!" (as long as it ain't a flame). Thankyou very much to those who DID review. It was very much appreciated. I figured that just for those people (and myself) a new chapter was in order, so here it is! *hands out Sev cookies to nice reviewers*. P.s. I'm trying to keep the chapters to over 2000 words, so they will take a little while to get out... hopefully not too long! P.p.s. Still desperate for a beta here!!!
" " = Speech
* * = Thought
Chapter 2 – An Unlikely Story
Shuki had spent the feast talking to the various staff members and was intrigued to know what had gone on in her long absence from the school. It was intriguing to note that absolutely none of the teachers, not even the ever-sharp Minerva McGonagall, actually recognised her. She was relieved at that. The last thing she needed was a bunch of teachers ordering her to be taken off the staff because of her past. It had been a long journey since she had left Hogwarts. Her main reason for leaving had been her family. She couldn't cope with the constant pressure from them to be more like them. She had been an outcast from them since her second year at the school when she had made a choice that they refused to understand, and after three years of continual attacks by her brother, it was a very easy choice for her to just leave and never look back.
Her other motivation came when she got pregnant to her boyfriend. She decided to leave the school before it could show and was thankful when she gave birth to the twins in the seclusion of her own place... the Shrieking Shack, a building that had been deserted for longer than she could ever imagine. The only time she ever left was when the only decent Gryffindor is the entire school had to make his change. He knew that she was living there and she was more than happy to vacate the building when he was in need of it. By the time the twins were born, Remus Lupin and his friends had left the school forever and she had no fear of anyone returning to the little shack on the hill. Once Charlotte and Angel were born, she left the shack, heading for Australia, where she lived for ten years. After that, she travelled around Europe and Asia, allowing the girls to attend both Durmstrang and Beaux Batons.
And here she was, once again, although in a rather different role from her last time here. She felt a pair of eyes watching her and could pinpoint their owner without looking. Severus Snape. Who else could it be, staring with her with that much intensity? She could remember Snape from her high-school days. How could one forget? He was an enigma that everyone hoped to crack, but the more pressure he got from Potter's gang, the more withdrawn he became. He was drop dead gorgeous too until they broke his nose. He stopped caring about his appearance after that since Madame Pomfrey was away and the replacement nurse didn't know how to fix his nose, allowing it to set in an unnatural and quite unattractive way. He was never the same after that incident. It was just after that that he signed up for the Dark Mark, a thing which caused more pain for himself than it was ever worth. She knew that he was a spy for the Light now, but she had to wonder how long Dumbledore, the manipulative arsehole was going to feed off his guilt, forcing him to do something that would ultimately end his life. This brought her thoughts around to the old man himself.
Albus Dumbledore had held his position of power over the school for about forty years now, taking over when Headmaster Dippett was in an unexpected fatal broom crash. All of the students loved him, with the exception of the Slytherins, who mostly supported Voldemort, who was Dumbledore's opponent, and there were very few who could actually see through the twinkling eyes and lemon drops to the evil person within. It was something that grated on Shuki's nerves to no end. The man used people without conscious and was set to take over the world once Voldemort was gone, and it was only a matter of time. He shamelessly exploited the young Harry Potter, forcing the boy to go through many ordeals that someone his age should not have to face, not to mention that stupid prophesy. It wasn't a true prophesy. The person that Dumbledore had gotten it from was, in fact, Bellatrix LeStrange, who was acting under the guise of the resident psychic, one Sybil Trelawney. The prophesy itself had come straight from Voldemort himself who had decided that there was no way a mere boy could defeat him, and it the Light side thought that this was their only way to win, then a victory for the forces of Darkness would be secured.
A loud cough brought her out of her musings. Minerva gestured that everyone had left and that she was just sitting there staring into space. Embarrassed at having been caught, she stood quickly, knocking her chair over. She stooped to pick it up and noticed a small series of blood droplets trailing from Snape's chair in the direction of the doors. Standing back up again, Shuki made a mental note to check on Severus, who she knew would not actively seek help from anyone. She left the hall and headed for his chambers, following the small blood trail to a door deep within the dungeons. It was so far into the depths of the castle that she needed a light spell to be able to see where she was going and even then it was impossible to tell what lay ahead. She knocked twice on the door and entered. Severus, who was facing in the opposite direction, whirled around to face her, an incredulous look on her face.
"How the fuck did you get in here?!"
"Tut tut, Severus. Language! I came in through the door, dear boy." Severus looked about to strangle her. "I know stuff, ok? My secret. I might tell you if you're really nice."
"Who are you, really? I know you. I want to know where from and I want to know now." Shuki found herself with a wand pointing directly at her heart, but it was Severus who was surprised as felt his magic vanish, a very disconcerting feeling indeed. He was a squib. "Fix it!!! I can't be a squib... please." He was whimpering and tears were forming at the corners of his eyes. "PLEASE!"
"Do you promise to behave then? Because I won't be so lenient next time. This is only a temporary blocking spell, but I can easily make it permanent."
"Whatever. I don't care, just give me back my magic... Please." Severus felt his magic go coursing through him and sighed with relief, vowing to talk to Dumbledore in the morning about this new teacher of his.
"I'm here because you've managed to drip blood the entire way between here and the great hall, so if you'd kindly sit down and shut up, I'll heal you. You got that?" She rested her hands on her hips and cocked her head, an annoyed expression on her face.
Snape sighed in defeat and sat himself down on a stool, removing his shirt so that she could see the wounds in need of healing. Three deep gashes streaked across his back, obviously made by a whip and someone very good at wielding it. Shuki had seen far worse than this and in a matter of moments, there was no sign that the wounds had ever been there and she took a couple of seconds to admire her work, and his broad, strong back.
"You know, I can heal these scars for you if you like."
Severus started from his daydreaming. "No. Don't. They remind me of what I have done and that keeps me from fleeing danger. So please, leave them be."
Shuki nodded in understanding then left for her own chambers that were not that far away, leaving Severus with a bizarre expression of his face that was a combination of sadness, anger, fear, and something unreadable.
~~~
Angel was having a hard time fitting in with the Slytherins. They were all elitist snobs who wanted to know her pedigree back at least fifteen generations, and to cover the fact that she didn't know beyond one, she told them that pedigrees were for dogs. She went on to explain that she was not a French poodle (staring at Pansy), an English bull mastiff (staring at Crabbe and Goyle), nor was she a scrawny Doberman pincer (staring at Draco Malfoy). Holding her head high, she spun on her heel and left the common room, heading for the library where she knew her sister would be. About thirty paces into her trek, she ran into her mother... literally.
"Ouch!!! Sorry Mum." Shuki looked down to see her daughter sprawled on the cold cobbles of the passageway and shook her head slightly. Angel was the least co-ordinated of the twins and had a tendency to run into things as she was always deep in thought about one thing or another. She wondered what it was that was occupying her daughter's mind at this time of night.
"It's fine, but remember, whilst we're at school you have to call me Professor Mitchell, even though that really sucks." Angel nodded. "Now, what's on your mind? Did you want to come down to my room for a peach tea and a chat? I'd really like to know how you like you're house so far. So much to catch up on!" Angel nodded again, this time with a slight look of amusement on her face. Her mother had never spent much time apart from the twins and it would be interesting to see how she would cope to the new arrangements. At the previous schools, the twins had had shared rooms with their mother, but this time it had be decided to place them with their houses. Shuki and Angel were walking towards Shuki's rooms, and were now almost there.
Reaching a portrait consisting of a family of snakes, Shuki hissed softly and the largest snake, assumedly the mother, hissed back. They conversed in parseltongue for about a minute before the portrait swung aside allowing the mother and daughter to enter. All of the members of the Mitchell family had the talent, something which they kept a secret due to the obvious stigma attached to the ability with which they could see nothing negative or evil. Entering the luscious chambers, it was easy to see Shuki's hand in the décor of the place. Many small items that served as a reminder of the close-knit family they shared were scattered around the room. Photos smiled and waved from shelves, snow globes that they had collected from nearly every country in the world were placed in a small glass cabinet, and in the very centre of the room lay a rug that the family had all pitched in to make and had handprints from each person sewn into it. Angel's eyes were drawn to a leather-bound book on the coffee table that was situated in front of a plushy-looking maroon and green lounge chair.
When Shuki went into the kitchen to organise the tea, Angel sat down in the chair and picked up the book. It was a photo album. She opened to the first page and was astonished to see a picture of her mother smiling back at her. It wasn't that it was her mother, or that she was smiling, but that the image was of her mother when she was only twelve years old. Her familiar scrawl was underneath the image, saying,
'This photo album is the only proof that I ever had a family. There will never be more written about them after this day as they have officially disowned me for the studies of dark magic. I am not evil, nor will I ever be. So here it is... the last thing that will ever acknowledge my family ever existed...'
Angel turned the page and gasped.
I'm a nasty person who writes nasty cliff-hangers. There won't be many of them in this story, cuz it's a REALLY mean thing to do, and I'm not planning on using another one for a very long while. Neways, PLEASE REVIEW!!! I can't stress this enough. I need people to review so that I can work out which direction to take with this story. Any ideas on plot/story would be appreciated too. Any special requests for couples? I've already got most of it planned out, but if there's a couple you really would like to see, I'll set up a vote and you might just get what you wish for!
Matta ne!
Shuki
"Dark Lord reborn equal world go BOOM!" – Lina Inverse.
P.s. I still don't have a name for this! If I can't get any suggestions it might just have to stay as Untitled. K, I'm done now. Please review... please? *Begins to hyperventilate. Chibi Xellos swats and then all is well* Thanks Xel!!! NOW REVIEW DAMNIT *grins evilly*
P.p.s. Xellos, aside from being a HILARIOUS character, is one of my maaaaaaaaaaany muses