Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns Harry Potter I own Ruth, Gen and an overactive imagination.

A/N: Everyone seemed to like my last fic so here's the sequel, it picks up where the last one left off. Thanks to everyone who reviewed my first fic, special thanks to SiriusLives001 for all your suggestions.

Chapter 1: Back to School

I'm watching the students trickle in from my seat at the staff table. Someone – I have a feeling it was Dumbledore – had put me sitting next to Snape. Students are looking at me and muttering to one another obviously wondering why I'd take the Defence Against the Dark Arts position and if last years rumours about me being an Auror are true. They are also probably wondering what I'm doing sitting next to Snape when it's common knowledge that he's after the Defence Against the Dark Arts position. Truthfully I'm wondering that too.

Professor McGonagall leads all the frightened looking first year students into the great hall. I briefly wonder if I looked that frightened when I first arrived at Hogwarts. The sorting hat's song causes me to frown as it seems to give a warning that all the students must work together saying that it wonders if it is wrong to split them into separate houses. I remember it doing that before when Voldemort was at full strength before.

"That's the second year in a row it has given a warning," Professor Flitwick murmurs beside me.

"Must be because of Voldemort," I reply softly. "It gave a warning every year when I was here as a student, though the warning was never that severe."

"I remember that," Professor Flitwick murmurs back. "Though you are correct about the severity of the warning. That in it's self causes me to worry."

I wonder if the hat knows something we don't, or at least suspects something we don't given that it has the knowledge from the founders of Hogwarts and lives in Dumbledores office.

Dumbledore stands up to speak and I immediately pay attention.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. I have just a few small announcements to make before we dig into our feast. Firstly as a note to the first years and some of our older students the Forbidden Forest is forbidden which means you do not enter it. Also our caretaker Mr. Filtch has reminded me to tell you that the use of magic as well as an extensive list of things posted on his office door are forbidden in the hallways between classes. Now I would like to welcome a new teacher to our mist who will be taking the so-called cursed Defence Against the Dark Arts position, a good friend of mine, Professor Dawson."

I stand up to acknowledge the applause from the students, those at the Gryffindor table are clapping rather enthusiastically while those over at the Slytherin table merely look put off.

"Don't worry," I say to Dumbledore but loud enough for the entire great hall to hear, "I'm not going to interrupt you with a pointlessly long winded speech."

There is a roar of laughter from the students and Dumbledore chuckles before continuing.

"Now on to more important things, let the feast begin."

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The next morning at breakfast I consult my timetable for the week. I have a double period with my sixth-year class first then a spare period before lunch, in the two periods following lunch I have one third year class, then the other one and in last period the seventh years. Seeing the third years listed on my timetable reminds me that I need a Boggart.

"Do you know if there's a Boggart anywhere in the school?" I ask McGonagall.

"Filtch was saying yesterday that there's one down in the potions storage room in one of the cabinets. However Severus may have gotten rid of it by now."

"Let's hope not. I need one for my third years to practise on."

"And you couldn't have arranged this ahead of time?"

I grin, "not me, I do everything at the last moment."

I sweep into the classroom thirty seconds after the period starts my cloak billowing out behind me. Sitting down on the edge of my desk I open a folder and begin flipping through it.

"Well you're teaching in this subject has been rather…scattered to put it nicely," I say. "First year you had Professor Quirrell who's Ministry approved way of teaching had you read books on the subject. Though he also had the minor drawback of Lord Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head, as I believe Mr. Potter pointed out to the Ministry last year." There are some grins from the students. "Second year you had Professor Lockhart who is now sitting happily in St. Mungos with his memory removed which I think accurately sums up what you learned that year." That gets some laughter.

"Then you had Professor Lupin who managed to bring you up to the level you should have been at as far as dark creatures go. I'm not surprised at all that he was the only competent teacher you've had."

"You know Professor Lupin," a boy burst out.

"And you're name is?"

"Dean Thomas."

"To answer you're question Dean, yes I do know Professor Lupin, we are actually very good friends." I pause going back to the file. "Fourth year Professor Moody, aka death eater Bartty Crouch Jr. Well at least you learned something that year. Then last year you had Professor Umbridge." I toss the file into the wastebasket next to my desk, some of the students exchange grins. "Truthfully it's a miracle any of you passed your OWL."

I stand up. "Now if you'd put your books away and take out your wands I'm going to go through all of the defensive spells that you should know up to this point to get an idea of the level that most of the class is at. First off I would like to start with Disarming Charm…"

"Like that's real complicated."

I turn to the boy who spoke and my good mood immediately vanishes. "Do you teach this class, Mr. Malfoy?"

"How did you know my name?" he demands.

"You're father and I have met. In fact you might want to ask him about September 20th fifteen years ago if you want to know how effective the Disarming Charm can be."

Malfoy Jr. opens and shuts his mouth several times trying to come up with a reply.

"Are you an Auror?" a boy asks quietly.

"Your name?"

"Ernie Macmillan."

"Yes, Ernie, I am."

Malfoy mutters something to his buddies.

"She a great Auror too," Neville cuts in. "She put five death eaters in Azkaban."

The class looks at me with new respect, and no one questions anything I say for the rest of the double period.

Just after the start of the next period I make my way down to the dungeons. I'm in no hurry to get there since the dungeons were always my least favourite place in Hogwarts when I was a student. I pause outside the door to Snape's classroom then I knock quickly and walk in.

Snape looks at me with his usual sneer. "Yes?"

"I was told you have a Boggart down here…"

"I can deal with Boggarts," Snape snaps. "I don't need an Auror to come and remove them for me."

"I was wondering," I continue as if I hadn't been interrupted. "If I could have it to give my third years some practise."

"And how do you plan on taking it with you?"

I pull out my wand, give it a wave and a large box appears. "Sufficient?"

"It's in there," he snarls pointing to a door behind him.

As I walk through the classroom I notice that this is the very class of sixth years that had just left my classroom except with one difference, there are only six students in this class. Obviously Snape has maintained the strict standards set by Professor Tragally to get into his NEWT classes. I resist the urge to smack Snape with the box as I go by knowing if I do I'm risking Dumbledore's wrath.

One of the cabinets is rattling, a sure sign that it contains a Boggart. With a wave of my wand the cabinet door opens. Before the Boggart can take a solid recognisable form I bring the box down over its head. The impact of the Boggart hitting the box sends me flying backwards into the shelves behind me. My head hits one painfully causing a loud crash and several jars to fall to the floor. I make sure that the Boggart is shut tightly in the box before cleaning up the smashed jars, unfortunately there isn't such an easy way to get rid of the throbbing pain in my head.

Levitating the box in front of me I walk back into the classroom.

"Do I dare ask what broke," Snape sneers.

"A couple jars. You try putting a Boggart in a box."

Ignoring Snape sneering at my back I walk out of the classroom resisting the urge to knock the supports out from under a sniggering Malfoy Jr's caldron.

A/N: there you go R&R people.