Chapter 1
Finally, the day had come. It was September 1, the day that the students were to arrive. Over the remaining days of the summer, Krista had introduced herself to several of the teachers, some of which she already knew. Minerva McGonagall was still teaching Transfigurations. She was a strict woman that kept her black hair tightly in a bun. She was also the head of Gryffindor house.
Krista had also met Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, Professor Sprout, the Herbology teacher, Professor Trelawney, who taught Divination, and Professor Binns, the History of Magic teacher who happened to be a ghost. She'd met Hagrid, the school's groundkeeper the day she'd arrived and had recently met Argus Filch, the caretaker. Then there was Madame Hooch, the flying instructor and referee for the Quidditch matches.
Oddly, she had seen no sign of the strange man she had found familiar, nor heard him spoken of. But as the days till school started grew fewer, she lost interest in finding out whom he was. She took the rest of the day preparing her classroom. Before she knew it, the sun was starting to set and she knew she must get ready for the feast in the Great Hall.
As she was leaving her classroom, she saw the man leaving his classroom. He caught a glimpse of her and gave an expressionless smile. "You must be Krista Trebaxus," he said. He spoke very quietly but she hung on every word.
"Yes," she said, her voice sounding timid. "And you must be?"
He looked at her again carefully. His cold, black eyes fixated on her with a penetrating stare. "Severus Snape, the Potions Master" he said. Suddenly, she remembered.
In the one year that Krista had attended Hogwarts she had been sorted into the Slytherin house. Severus Snape had also been a Slytherin. He was in his sixth year when she was in her first. She remembered him as a glum looking boy. She always felt sorry for him. When she snapped back to reality, Snape was still eyeing her. "Well, it was nice meeting you Professor Snape but I think I should get a move on." She said. She hardly recognized her own voice.
"Yes," he said in the same flat tone. She walked away quickly feeling very strangely.
Severus watched her leave. She had acted rather strangely around him. He felt he recognized her from somewhere but couldn't remember. After she'd disappeared, he set out for the Great Hall as well. She seemed rather reserved opposed to the other new teachers that had come for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, especially more than that git Lockhart. He respected her for that.
Upon arriving at the Great Hall, he noticed many of the other teachers had already arrived and were sitting around the giant staff table that was arranged at the front of the room. He took his seat that he had maintained for most of his teaching career at Hogwarts.
There at the seat next to his was Professor Trebaxus. She was engrossed in conversation with Professor Flitwick who was on her other side. He took his seat next to her and stared straight ahead into the Great Hall.
The hall fell quiet as the first years filed into the room, all of which were looking quite scared. Professor McGonagall put the sorting hat onto a stool and it sang its customary song. After it was finished, McGonagall quickly explained what they should do and the sorting ceremony began. After the new students were all sorted and had taken their seats at the appropriate tables, Albus Dumbledore stood up and began his yearly speech.
"Welcome all students back to Hogwarts!" he said, spreading his arms wide. "It's going to be a great year! First off, I would like to introduce to you our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Trebaxus," he said, gesturing toward the end of the table. She stood up smiling and shyly waved to the students who applauded merrily. "I'm sure that she will have pleasure in meeting you all and she will teach you great things," he said. Trebaxus, now blushing, smiled fondly toward Dumbledore and sat back down.
"Also, our caretaker Mr. Filch would like to remind all students that no magic is to be performed in the corridors and that the Forbidden Forest is as always off limits. With that being said, let the feast begin." With a wave of his hands the tables instantly filled with food. The students gasped and then burst into conversation. After filling her own plate, Krista looked around the room. Her eyes suddenly fell upon Professor Snape. She watched him eat in silence. Many of the other teachers were talking amongst themselves but he seemed to be left out of the conversations.
He looked at her suddenly and she looked away quickly. He decided to try to strike up a conversation. "So Professor Trebaxus, what were your experiences before coming here?" he asked.
She looked at him and smiled nervously before beginning. "Well, I was on the ministry for a very short while. I was in the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures department. Then I left to travel, basically doing house calls." She said. He nodded, looking slightly interested.
At Gryffindor table, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were finishing up their meal. Harry began to stare toward the head table when he saw that the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Trebaxus was talking avidly with Professor Snape. "What is it Harry?" asked Ron.
"Look at Professor Trebaxus," he said distantly. She was now staring into his eyes in admiration.
"That's all we need is another evil teacher." Ron said.
"I think she looks rather intelligent," Hermione piped in.
"You would," said Ron.
As Hermione fixed Ron with an angry glower, Harry said, "Well, if she's friends with Snape she'll probably turn out to be just as mean as he is," Harry said disappointedly. Ron nodded.
"You can't judge a book by its cover." Hermione said. They peered up at Snape once more. It was actually the first time Harry had ever seen Snape with even a remotely happy smile on his face.
"Maybe she'll occupy his time and he won't give us so much homework," Ron laughed. Hermione rolled her eyes and returned to her food. After Ron chuckled quietly to Harry, they also returned to eating.
After the feast was over and the students were heading towards their dormitories, Krista set out for her office. She received a few "good luck tomorrows" from some of the other teachers as she went along. Just as she reached her room, someone cleared their throat behind her. She turned around to see Professor Snape.
"My classroom is just down the hall if you need anything," he said.
"Thank you, I'll bear that in mind," She said. He nodded. "Good night Professor Snape," she said right before he left.
He looked at her blankly. His expressionless face was very hard to determine sometimes. "Good night Professor Trebaxus," he finally said. She threw him one more half smile and disappeared into her room.
She checked around her classroom for anything that she might need to adjust before finally getting into bed. It was hard to sleep because she was overwhelmed with excitement and anxiousness for the next day. At last, she fell to sleep.