Author: AngeloftheDesert
Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, then Harry would have an all-out snog session with Draco. I probably took some influences from Ah! My Goddess (since I've been watching the OAV's nonstop since I got them three days ago), and I don't known that Anime/manga either.
Rating: PG-13 to R
Pairing: SS/OC - main, secondary pairings will come as my muse kicks me.
Summary: It's the sixth year at Hogwarts and a new Potion's apprentice is brought to the school. Is there more between this new student and Professor Snape than meets the eye? (Sorry all slash fans, this is a het story...and the first one I've done now that you mention it)
Note: Since J.K. Rowling never actually said what sex Blaise Zabini is, I'm just gonna say Blaise is a guy.
Chapter One
"Who's that girl sitting next to Professor Snape?" Ron Weasley whispered to Harry Potter while the two sat in the Great Hall.
It was the start-of-term banquet, the beginning of another year at Hogwarts. The Great Hall was lit merrily with it's normal floating candles, the ceiling above them showing a remarkably clear sky, thousands of tiny stars twinkling down on the inhabitants of the school. Sparkling crystal and shimmering gold lined the four tables, all empty of food, awaiting the word of the Headmaster before filling. Older students were anxiously whispering, all waiting for the Sorting ceremony to begin, all wanting to see how many new additions each House would obtain by the end of the banquet.
None of this was a surprise for Harry, who had grown accustomed to the activities of the banquet in his now six years at Hogwarts. He was used to the whispers, the ghosts floating around the Hall, talking to students, the utterly magical feeling of the entire event. What surprised him was the strange new girl sitting at the staff table next to Professor Snape. What surprised him even more was the fact that he was being rather civil towards the girl, and that she was being friendly towards him. Usually, Professor Snape rarely talked to anybody on the staff, let alone a girl who looked young enough to be a student.
She was a rather pretty girl, looking no older that sixteen. Her hair was red, a deep, rich red, missing the orange highlights that the Weasley clan favored. The hair was swept back into a ponytail accented by a rich blue ribbon. The girl's face was smooth, cherubic almost, with a gentle smile that went all the way to her sapphire-blue eyes. Her figure was dressed in robes that matched the ribbon in color, fitting her torso and waist before flaring out slightly over slender hips, sweeping to the floor, the top cut to expose her small shoulders. The robes were accented with silver, which was also the color of the girl's moderate jewelry: hoop earrings adorned with different charms, silver bracelets around her slender wrists, and, strangely, a collar around her neck adorned with charms. Her face lit up with an almost heavenly glow as she smiled at the Professor before laughing lightly at something he had probably just told her.
"I...I don't know," Harry replied to Ron's question, staring at the girl. It was hard not to. Harry took a moment to look around the Great Hall and noticed that the girl had also caught the attention of most of the Hall. A glance over at the Slytherin table showed Draco Malfoy whispering to Blaise Zabini, both boys watching the girl was interest. He was about to whisper this fact to Ron when the doors swung open, permitting the first years to enter the Great Hall, lead by Professor McGonagall, silencing the excited whispers rippling throughout the Great Hall.
Professor McGonagall placed a stool on the raised platform that also held the staff table, covering the surface with an old, dirty, patched wizard's hat. The first years, along with the other students in the Great Hall, watched the hat with interest. Suddenly, the large rip near the brim opened like a mouth, a clear voice, though ragged with age, resounded through the Hall:
"Lads and ladies, listen to me,
And I will reveal which House you shall be.
Will you be Hufflepuff?
Being loyal through the tests?
Or will you be Ravenclaw?
Smartest of the best?
Brave Gryffindor,
Is where you might be,
Or ambitious Slytherin,
Might fit you to a "T.
Fit me on your head, I don't bite,
I shall bring your inner-most virtues Into the light.
Come lads and ladies,
Try me on for size.
And I shall show you,
Which House is your prize!"
When the song ended, the Great Hall erupted into applause, the Hat making almost a bow before it was lifted from the chair by Professor McGonagall, who held a long scroll in her other hand.
"Abernathy, Zeke." A young boy with dark hair stepped up onto the raised platform, taking a seat on the stool. Professor McGonagall set the Hat onto the boy's head, covering all of his face save his chin. The Hat took a moment, muttering to the boy, before he bellowed throughout the Hall:
"RAVENCLAW!" The Ravenclaw table erupted into applause, cheering for their new Housemate as Zeke Abernathy took his seat next to the Ravenclaw Seeker, Cho Chang.
Professor McGonagall continued to call names, each student getting Sorted into their Houses. Ravenclaw had five more additions, Hufflepuff had six, while Gryffindor got eight and Slytherin, four. Once the Sorting was over, McGonagall lifted the Hat from the stool and carried both from the Great Hall. Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster of the school, stood at the staff table, calling all attention to him.
"Well, now that we've welcomed our new students-" Professor Dumbledore began, but was interrupted when the doors opened again. Harry turned to look and saw a young woman walk through the doors. She looked no older than twenty, sleek blonde hair falling down past her curvy waist. Her skin was a deep tan color, setting off the hair even more, and her eyes were a pale, silvery-blue. The woman's figure was clothed in, to Harry's surprise, Muggle clothes: a pair of black pants clung to the woman's hips, thighs, and legs, ending in a pair of knee-high black leather boots, a white shirt clung to her bodice, cut to expose her shoulders and long arms. The woman smiled in an apologetic manner as she approached the Head Table.
"Ah, welcome, I was wondering when you were going to come," Professor Dumbledore smiled to the woman, he then lifted his head to the students, "Students, I'd like you all to welcome Mrs. Claudia Bronte, she will be taking over Defence Against the Dark Arts this term." Harry darted a look at the Slytherin table and saw that Draco had become overly-pale, his mouth gaping at the woman. "Now, with that done and said, I have a few words: Tuck in!"
The plates magically filled with every kind of food imaginable. While Harry loaded up his plate, he watched as the new teacher slipped into the staff table, taking a seat next to the strange new girl sitting with Snape. As he watched, Professor Bronte leaned over and whispered to the girl, who smiled and replied, before shooting Snape a glare, which the Potion's Master returned. It was obvious that the two knew each other...and that they didn't like each other.
"What do you suppose that was all about?" Harry asked as he, Ron, and Hermione Granger walked up towards the Gryffindor Common Room after the banquet had been dismissed, "Malfoy looked like he had swallowed a toad, and then Snape and Bronte were glaring at each other. Think they know her?"
"It's a possibility," Hermione replied, "I've heard of her. She's the wife of Lucas Bronte, a French wizard who defeated the Dark Lord Demetrius when he tried to take over France twenty years ago. He's most known for his studies on werewolves and is the only person known to interact with a transformed werewolf without being bitten. It's rumored that he knows Black Magic, but he's never shown the ability to use it."
"But how could Snape and Malfoy possibly know her if she lives in France?" Ron asked as they climbed up a winding staircase, being sure to hop over the trick step halfway up, "I mean, she's apparently not as well-known as her husband-"
"On the contrary," Hermione interrupted Ron, "Claudia Bronte is well-known as a Japanese sorceress. She is a master of kanji magic. And as for how Malfoy knows her, isn't it obvious by her looks?" When she got confused looks from Ron and Harry, she let out an exhasperated sigh, "Claudia Bronte's maiden name is Malfoy."
"Malfoy?!" Ron yelped, then groaned and rolled his eyes, "Bloody hell, just what we need, another Malfoy roaming around the castle. Who's to say she's not as bad as Draco?"
"But she's not," Hermione replied, "She was disowned just before she married Lucas. Her name wouldn't even show up in the Malfoy family history. Apparently, she wasn't becoming of a Malfoy. Snape must know her through Lucius, since she is his half-sister."
"So Professor Bronte is Lucius' half-sister?" Harry asked, looking curiously at Hermione.
"Of course, she's only half English, then she's half Japanese," Hermione stated, "I read in an old Daily Prophet clipping I found in the library. Apparently, Lucius' father had quite the scandal when he had an affair with a Japanese woman, thus adding Professor Bronte to his line. The rumors were that Professor Bronte's mother was a Japanese magical creature known as a Tenshi."
"I still think having another Malfoy around is gonna be bad," Ron grumbled as they stepped into the Common Room, "She might be just as arrogant and self-centered as any other Malfoy."
"I don't know," Harry muttered, "She might just be alright..."
To Be Continued
Author's Note: AAAAAHHHH! It's a Mary Sue! Yes, I am horrible for writing one in there, but it was so tempting that I couldn't resist. Hope you enjoy the rest of the story!