Chapter 3

Sonora was caught off guard by the request. "I beg your pardon, sir?" she asked.

Dumbledore smiled at her, eyes seeming to twinkle once more. "You have made quite a name for yourself over the last few years, my dear Sonora," he said. "Hogwarts would be lucky to have you as an assistant teacher."

"But… but… What about Professor Snape?" she managed.

His expression grew serious. "Ah. That is part of why I ask." Dumbledore got up and paced around to stand by the fire. "I am about to tell you, my dear, information that no one save a select few know, and must remain strictly secret."

"Sir, you have my word," Sonora said seriously.

Dumbledore smiled a little. "I do recall that from when you were a student. When Sonora Stone made a promise, she kept it, regardless of consequences." He sighed. "Very well. Professor Snape is currently working for myself and others, the Order of the Pheonix, we are called, as a spy against Voldemort."

Sonora barely managed not to gape. That cranky, foul tempered man?

Dumbledore went on. "Severus has a past, my dear. In his youth he was a Death Eater, and with Voldemort's return, has taken the responsibility to use that connection to learn what he can and assist the Order as much as possible."

"I can see why this is a closely guarded secret," Sonora said, more than a little stunned. If Snape was playing double agent to the Dark Lord, he could not risk any whisper of treachery.

"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed. "And that is where you are needed. Severus has convinced Voldemort that he is actually double-crossing myself, pretending to feed me information while serving his former master." Sonora resisted the urge to rub her forehead. It was all terribly convoluted. "As part of the Dark Lord's service, he is frequently called away from Hogwarts, often for periods of time too long to easily explain away."

"I see," Sonora said, suddenly realizing his intent. "You want someone to cover his classes."

Dumbledore smiled and paced back over to his chair. "You have a wonderful reputation in the field of Potions, Sonora. It would not seem amiss if a visiting professor shared classes with Professor Snape, especially given your recent injuries, and would not risk Severus' cover with Lord Voldemort."

Sonora frowned thoughtfully. "Is Professor Snape agreeable to this?" she asked.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Ah, actually, I have not yet told him," he said cheerfully. "I preferred to present the idea already accomplished."

Sonora laughed aloud. "Oh, I see. You don't think he'll like it at all, do you?" she chuckled.

Dumbledore smiled as well, ruefully. "No, I don't," he said.

~~~~~~~

Severus stared at Dumbledore. Was the man mad? "You want to hire Miss Stone as an additional Potions Mistress?" he said, tone biting. His pride was smarting. He was supposed to have one of the finest set of hands in the wizarding world. And Dumbledore thought he needed help?

Dumbledore tipped his glasses down to peer at him. "Really Severus, it's not that strange an idea," he said with a smile that made Severus a little nervous. He had learned over the years that that smile generally meant Dumbledore had some secret plan he wasn't sharing. "We have had visiting professors before."

Not like this one, leapt into Severus' mind, and was instantly quashed. So what if the woman looked infinitely better after having seen Pomphrey. She still looked like a stiff wind would blow her over. Miss Stone was small, fine boned, and especially with the crutch propped next to her chair and currently drowning in borrowed robes, looked immeasurably frail. Besides, he was not inclined to share his classroom.

He turned to fix his gaze on her. Perhaps the woman herself would be easier to dissuade.

~~~~~~~

Indeed, Professor Snape was NOT pleased with the idea of sharing his classroom. "Sonora Stone," he said, looking at her disdainfully. "You are a researcher. Not a teacher."

"Some students I knew would argue that you aren't a teacher either, Professor," Sonora couldn't resist quipping with a smile. His scowl grew blacker and Dumbledore intervened.

"Severus, this aids not only Miss Stone, but also us," he reminded his Potions Master. "You will not have to worry about unexplained absences with her here."

Snape's eyes swung to Dumbledore. "You told her?" he asked, in tones of disbelief.

Sonora resisted to roll her eyes at Dumbledore's patiently dry tone. "It was rather necessary," he said.

Snape drew himself up sharply. "Then I do not see why you bothered to ask my opinion about the matter," he said coldly. "It seems to be already done." He turned to look Sonora over from head to toe, in a cold, raking glance. "Will Miss," he paused, "Professor Stone be physically able to teach?"

Sonora again resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Merlin's beard, he was going to test her patience. "I assure you, Professor Snape," she said calmly. "I am well enough for teaching. This," she indicated her leg, still propped on the ottoman, "is really all that remains to heal. And as long as I'm careful, there should be no problems."

"Then it is settled," Dumbledore said, startling her out of her concentration on Professor Snape. "Severus, I'm sure I can count on you to make Sonora at home in her new quarters, and to ensure she reaches dinner tonight in one piece? You will want to discus how to divide your classes, at any rate."

Snape seemed to glower at the headmaster. "Of course," he ground out. He turned and swept toward the door. "Coming, Professor Stone?"

Sonora reached for her crutch. "Right behind you, Professor Snape," she said sweetly. This would be interesting, she thought as she heaved herself carefully to her feet. Definitely interesting.

~~~~~~~

Professor Snape threw open a door on the far side of the dank potions dungeon. "This can serve as your office," he said, clearly in a black mood, "and the door on the far side of it leads to your quarters."

Sonora peered into the dusty, dark room, and mentally made a note to do some cleaning spells before she sat anywhere. "Very well," she said, leaning on her crutch. "Shall we discuss the class schedules before dinner?" Which, quite frankly, she was starved for.

Professor Snape stalked around the desk at the front of the room, and dropped into his chair. He glared at her. "I will teach the Advanced Potions class. You may take the classes with the Gryffindors. As I recall, you were one yourself, so perhaps YOU will find a way to handle the Weasleys." He seemed to smirk as he said that.

Sonora pulled out her want and transfigured a student table into another teacher-sized desk, and then turned a wooden student chair into a nice, softly padded armchair complete with low ottoman. She sent them to sit next to Snape's with a wave of her want before limping over to drop down.

"Ah, that's better," she said, carefully setting her foot on the ottoman. "Pomphrey said to sit as much as possible."

Snape glared at her from his chair. "You couldn't ask before rearranging my classroom?" he snapped.

Sonora settled back. "That's true. My apologies, Professor." Snape seemed to be slightly taken aback by her quiet apology. "What?" Sonora asked, curious. "It IS your classroom, and I was rather presumptuous in arranging it to suit me."

Snape gave a shake of his head and then leaned over to toss her a pile of papers. "These are from the fourth-year Gryffindor and Hufflepuff classes," he said, sneering slightly. "Since they will be your classes from now on, you may as well grade them."

Sonora set them on the clean surface of her own desk. "Do you have lessons you'd like me to follow with the classes I teach?" she asked. Snape seemed to pause in surprise again. "Professor," she said as nicely as she could. "I'm not here to make your life harder. In fact, I believe I am here specifically to make your life easier. Please don't be so surprised when I try to do so."

Snape seemed to study her for a moment, before grudgingly inclining his head. "Fair enough," he said. He seemed to hesitate a moment, and then still looked black. "Then I'll give you a warning. There are two seventh-years you will want to be wary off. The Weasley twins."

"Oh dear," Sonora said, starting to smile. "Twins?"

He grimaced. "Indeed. They fancy themselves jokesters. Thank Merlin they're not in Potions classes this year. You will want to watch them closely, regardless, as I appear to be their favorite target. And the fifth-year Gryffindors and Slytherins particularly hate each other. Mr. Longbottom tends to blow up everything in that class, Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley seem to believe they are above rules, and Miss Granger is an insufferable know-it-all."

Sonora made a mental note of the names. "I'll keep it in mind. Thank you, Professor," she said. She flicked her wand and conjured up parchment and quill. "Shall we discuss lessons for the week?"

~~~~~~~

Severus was now saddled with sharing his classroom with a woman. He scowled as he studied the lists in front of him. It wasn't a pleasing prospect.

Never mind that the woman in question was unquestionably an expert in his field. Never mind that she knew and seemed to accept his secret without a qualm. Never mind that she had calmly stated she was here to make his life easier.

He still didn't like it. Severus resisted the urge to laugh self-deprecatingly. He had never gotten on well with women, not Professor Stone's kind. The dark, twisted women he'd known in his youth, before coming to his senses and turning back to the side of the light, he'd understood them very well. They had not been so different from himself.

But women like the one now cozily ensconced at a desk next to his own, they had remained a mystery. And truth be told, they had never liked him very much, and he had not liked them. And now he had to practically live with one.

He scowled again. And dammit, did she have to be so, well, nice? If there was a type of person who instinctively made him back away, it was the nice ones. The friendly ones. The ones who seemed to think there was something to save in him. Severus's mood darkened. There was nothing to save in him, and those few who had tried over the years had been fools. Only Dumbledore had ever made him feel that there was something worth living for.

Women. Bah, Severus thought. He had a feeling this one would be more trouble than he liked.

~~~~~~~

Sonora found that Snape could be almost civil when he wished to be, and that he truly knew his potions. He'd been very knowledgeable her seventh year, she recalled, but he had not yet learned how to teach. Understandable, since it was his first year. She hoped her graduate work would come back to her. She had taught some classes a number of years back, and learning to break a complicated potion into the proper steps for the ignorant was challenging.

She studied the Potions Master as they talked. He had been young, perhaps six or seven years older than herself when he began teaching. She could not recall if he had been at Hogwarts the same time she had. She had been a very quiet Gryffindor those early years, thanks to her lonely life after her parents had died. Even her fellow housemates hadn't realized she was there for a few years, and it had taken her a while to start paying attention to them, as well. She hadn't taken notice of older students until perhaps her third or fourth year.

It had been around then, that she had come to the realization that she could not hide from life, and had started to force herself out of her shell. As a result, she had gained acceptance, and perhaps even some friendships from her classmates.

She studied Snape now. He looked older, it was true. His face had matured and settled into one that had seen and done much and lived to remember and regret. He needed to bathe, she thought absently, probably from hanging over steaming cauldrons all day. She often shuddered at her own reflection after a long day. She couldn't see him as a man who cared very much, however. If one could get past the lines of bitterness and regret, past the stern, cold look in his eyes, he was not unhandsome, she thought. At the very least, he should be interesting to work with.

He looked up and caught her studying him and glared. "Are you quite through?" he snapped.

She gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I was staring," she said. "A bad habit of mine, I'm afraid. I've been alone a great deal the past few years, and faces tend to fascinated me now."

His look was black. "Well, leave mine alone," he growled, tossing down parchment and quill. "Dinner will be served in about an hour, I suggest you settle into your quarters until then." He rose as he spoke and stalked off to what must be his own rooms on the other side of the large dungeon.

Sonora watched as the door slammed behind him, the heavy wood reverberating. Well, he was going to be interesting, she mused, before getting up with a sigh and a grimace. She'd best do as he'd so kindly suggested and see to her own rooms.

Briefly, she thought of her trunk, and wondered what Remus Lupin had done with it. She hadn't seen it on the carpet ride, but that didn't necessarily mean anything, she thought as she made her way to her new office.

She stepped inside. "Lumos," she said, wrinkling her nose at the musty scent. That would have to go. She crossed the small office and opened the door to her chambers. To her relief, her trunk was sitting at the foot of a generous bed that looked freshly made up.

Sonora smiled. A few cleaning spells, a liberal amount of candles and light, perhaps something scented to drive off the stink of student potions gone wrong… yes, this could be quite comfortable. With a flick of her wand, she opened her trunk and began to move in.