A.I.: Thanks to Rosemary who continually reviews my stories. Thanks for pointing out the trouser bit, to me, trousers sounds like underwear, so I didn't know which to put and just settled with pants.

Please R&R! PLEASE!!!!!!!! I'm starving for attention! tries to look humble

Chapter Four

When the dinner bell rang, the three walked to the Great Hall and sat at their family table. Ron was already busy shoving food onto his plate while Harry and Hermoine were watching the staff table. Once again, Professor Petra's seat was vacant, but a goblet was set in her place.

"Hey, that reminds me, how do you suppose Professor Petra eats? I mean, does she ever take the mask off?" asked Ron through a mouthful of shepard's pie.

"Ron please, close your mouth." said Hermione, grimacing at the disgusting view of the half masticated pie.

"Maybe it's a privacy thing. Maybe she has a big, ugly scar on her face." said Harry, drawing his knife across his left cheek.

"No! She can't have a scar under that mask! She's too pretty!" said Ron after swallowing his mouthful of pie.

"Oh Ron, get off of your love cloud and just look at the big picture. She knows Professor Snape, she wears a mask, and she has red eyes!" said Hermione, getting tired of constantly hearing how beautiful Petra is.

"So, what's your point?" asked Ron.

"My point is, that she must be a 'Death-Eater'."

"And you must be mad! There is no way that Professor Dumbledore would allow a death-eater to teach here!"

"He let that Moody impersonator teach here!"

"Well that's different! He didn't know about him being a death- eater."

"Then maybe he doesn't know about Professor Petra either."

"I don't think she's a death-eater," said Harry finally. "I mean, Professor Dumbledore seemed to know who she was when she arrived last night. I'm sure he trusts her."

"That ol' coot trusts everyone." said Ron smirking to himself.

"Well, I'm going to ask about it in class tomorrow." said Hermione as she resumed picking at her food. Hushed whispers soon erupted around them and Harry was able to catch a little was Dean was saying.

"Look, there she is! I thought she wasn't going to show up for any meals."

Harry looked towards the staff table, and sure enough, Petra was walking behind the table to her seat between Dumbledore and Snape. Once Petra was seated, Dumbledore began chatting with her. Snape only stayed to finish the rest of his meal before he quickly stood and left, Petra watching him the entire way.

"Professor Snape seems to hate her." said Ron.

"Well, that's normal." said Hermione, watching the scene closely. "Professor Snape hates everyone who gets the Defense position instead of him. But you are right Ron, there is more hatred there than usual."

Harry sighed and stood. "Well, I'm off to the common room. I want to finish all my homework so I can relax before I go to bed."

Hermione nodded and stood as well. "That's right, we also have N.E.W.T.'s to study for."

Ron groaned and grabbed some Treacle Fudge to take with him.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next day in Potions, Hermione tried getting some information from Professor Snape about Petra, and was literally thrown from the room, with house points from Gryffindor following her.

"I think you deserved it, Hermione." said Ron, still smirking. "You should have known better than to get information from Snape."

"Well he didn't have to throw me!" said Hermione crossly, still rubbing her backside. "Hopefully Professor Petra will be a little nicer about it."

The three walked to Defense class and sat at their desks. Once everyone was seated, Petra stepped out of her office and descended the stairway to stand by her desk.

"Is everyone here?" she asked. She looked around the classroom and once was satisfied that everyone was there, she turned back to her desk where a wooden crate sat, shaking every now and then.

"Today, we'll be reviewing boggarts, so if everyone will... yes, Hermione?" asked Petra when she noticed that Hermione's hand instantly shot into the air.

"Professor Petra, we were wondering if you would tell us why you wear that mask?" she asked.

Petra sighed and sat on the edge of her desk. "I knew it would be only a matter of time before someone asked about this thing." she said as she tapped the side of her mask. Everyone was staring intently at Petra, waiting in silence for the explanation.

"I believe I know why you wear it." said Hermione. Now everyone was staring at Hermione, nearly starving for any information they could get.

"Really? Why is that?" said Petra, looking intrigued by whatever explanation Hermione could think up.

"Well, I wouldn't want to embarrass you or spread any nasty rumors." said Hermione.

"No please, humor me. Tell me why you think I wear this mask."

"Well...because...because you're a death-eater."

Everyone in the classroom went wide-eyed, except for Harry, Ron, and Hermione who were all waiting for Petra's answer. What they never expected was for Petra to burst into hysterical laughter. The creature in the box who was moving around earlier, was now completely silent. Petra continued to laugh, and through her laughter was able to say, "My dear Hermione, that's just...just ridiculous."1

There was suddenly a cracking pop kind of noise and smoke seeped out of the holes in the crate. Petra looked at the crate. "Oh no! It already disappeared." she said as she opened the crate and held out her hand. Soon a small ghost like shape with one leg and a lantern sat on her hand before it completely disappeared into wisps of smoke. "Oh well, I guess we'll have to work on boggarts another time." She turned back to the class and saw that none of them were laughing, or looking amused in the slightest.

"If you're a death-eater, then why aren't you Azkaban?" asked Draco.

"It's because I am not a death-eater." said Petra.

"But your eyes are red, like Voldemorts." said Harry, a few people still shook at the sound of his name.

"So then, everyone with red eyes must be a descendant of Voldemort? Or a death-eater at least?" asked Petra, looking slightly amused.

"Well, no, not exactly." said Harry. "But you have to admit it is an odd coincidence."

Petra seemed to ponder the thought for a few minutes before she nodded. "Yes, I guess you're right, it is a strange coincidence. But I can assure all of you I am no descendant of Voldemort, nor am I a death-eater."

"Then why do you wear the mask?" asked Hermione once more.

Petra sat on the desk quietly, seeming to wonder which answer to give them. After a few moments of silence, she finally decided to tell the truth. "It's because I'm cursed."

"Then how do you explain the red eyes?" asked Harry.

"Tell me Harry, when you saw the memory of Tom Riddle in your second year, what color of eyes did he have?" she asked.

"Blue, I think."

Petra nodded. "People's eyes turn different colors when they are heavily cursed. Like Voldemort, who drank Unicorn' blood, used the unforgivable curses, practiced his magic for nothing but evil, and did everything he could to defy his own death, his eyes turned red from all the curses that are put upon one for doing such things."

"So then what did you do to require your red eyes?" asked Hermione.

Just then, the bell rang and Petra's eyes crinkled into that of a smile. "That'll have to wait for another class time. I will see you all later then."

The class stood and exited the defense room. Once they were in the hallway, they all erupted into deep discussions. Hermione sighed.

"If we only had thirty more seconds, she would have told us what she did!"

"It must have been something really bad! I mean, neither Voldemort or any of his death-eaters wore masks like that." said Ron.

"But neither Voldemort, nor his death-eaters got caught until the war was over, and the death-eaters were sent straight to Azkaban. She isn't in Azkaban, so it couldn't have been THAT bad." said Harry, as they climbed the stairway to their common room.

xxxxxxxxxx

Petra gazed out of the only window in her office, her thoughts still tumbling around over her last class. Merlin must have been smiling down on me at that moment. She thought to herself. I don't think I could have come up with a lie fast enough to answer why I wear this thing. As her mind continued to wander, she began to think about one man in particular. The man whom she wanted to talk to, the man whom she wanted to understand why she did what she had to do, the one man whom she feared would never feel the same way for her ever again. She began to reflect on her memories from the past, and closed her eyes.

1. I just think the spell sounds so much like the original word, that I just used it anyway. I thought it was funny!