CHAPTER THREE

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First day of school

The dream was forgotten by the time Andy woke up again and dragged herself out to the bathroom. For the second day in a row she wished that she hadn't been drinking the night before and silently wondered if it was a bad sign. She very rarely drank at all and now she had been drinking every day since she came to Hogwarts. Well, she wouldn't touch a drop ever again. Not until the weekend at least.

Dressed in the same black dress and robe from the Welcoming Feast, Andy walked down to the Great Hall where most students already were seated for breakfast under a ceiling that this morning was foggy, but at least the rain had stopped. She sat down just as the owls showed up with the mail. A large white owl swooped down in front of her bowl of yoghurt and she immediately recognized it as her grandmother's. She took the letter from its claws and the large bird took off again, but instead of reading it, Andy put the parchment in her robe pocket for later – starting the day with a letter from her grandmother was about as fun as a root canal.

"So, are you ready for the animals," Professor Sinistra said and folded together the newspaper she had been reading.

"Well, I was, until that comment," Andy said and sighed.

"Do as Snape does and picture them as puny bugs, that works; right, Severus?"

The sullen man on Andy's right side smirked.

"It has so far."

Andy grinned.

"It's either that or a quick shot of Ogden's, I suppose," she said and winked at Sinistra who howled with laughter. Snape snorted into his teacup.

Andy took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror above the stone sink in her office.

"I'm not afraid, I can fly," she mumbled and took another deep breath. "They're only children and if they misbehave you can always hex them from here to Sunday. You have dealt with worse. Right. Right."

She wiped her sweaty hands on the front of her dress and went to open the classroom door.

The door closed after the last first-year Ravenclaw and Andy slumped down in her chair, burying her face in her hands. One class down, ten thousand to go. There was a knock on the door and she sat up straight, trying to compose herself as the door opened. It was Dumbledore.

"I am not disturbing, I hope?"

"No sir, I've just finished the class."

"So how did it go then?"

"Oh, good," Andy said and thought, 'considering'. "What can I do for you sir?"

"In your office perhaps?"

They went upstairs and Andy put on a kettle.

"As you know, last year's Defence class was a disaster," Dumbledore began and Andy smiled to herself. Yes, she had heard about Umbridge and the debacle the woman had created.

"Now, I would like to ask you a favour."

"Certainly, Headmaster."

"As I told you, I think that your curriculum is excellent, but it does not cover an area that has become very important lately, with Voldemort's return and the Dementors on the loose: duelling. Yes, Minerva told me about your conversation last night. Jinxes and hexes only go a short way without the proper knowledge of how to use them in a more serious situation and I want my students to be able to defend themselves, come what may."

"I agree."

"A few years ago we had a duelling class here at Hogwarts that unfortunately ended in a rather hasty way." Dumbledore told her about Lockhart. "However, I would like to ask you if you could start it up again."

"A duelling class?" Andy lent forward in her chair. "I'd love it! Duelling was one of my favourite subjects at Granfjället and I was at the top of my class; got an A in my N.E.W.T.s"

"I know; that is why I asked you." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled behind his glasses. "You will need a co-teacher and I would suggest that you talk to Professor Snape. He is one of the most skilled duellers we have; save for Flitwick whom I think unfortunately might be too busy this year to take on a Duelling class."

"Professor Snape? Oh, I don't know... He doesn't seem to like me very much."

"Oh, it's not you, dear; our Potions Master doesn't like anyone in the DADA position."

"That does not help, sir."

Dumbledore chuckled.

"He barks worse than he bites. I suggest that you talk to him as soon as possible to set something up; he should be in his office right now. The Great Hall will be empty Wednesday evenings between eight and nine for your convenience." Dumbledore got up, thanked for the tea, and left.

Andy knocked on the door and when Snape barked out an "Enter!" she did so. He looked genuinely surprised to see her but didn't get up from his desk.

"Professor Parker?"

"Professor Snape." Andy walked up to the desk. "May I sit down?"

He made a curt nod. Andy sat down and folded her hands in her knees. She looked straight into the Potion Master's dark eyes and began talking:

"The Headmaster came to talk to me this morning. He told me that there used to be a duelling class at Hogwarts some years back and asked me to start a new one –"

"Did he tell you how it ended," Snape interrupted with a sneer.

"Yes he did, but with all due respect, Professor Snape, I am not Gilderoy Lockhart."

Snape's face didn't for a second reveal what he was thinking.

"And this regards me in what way," he muttered, fully aware of the answer.

"I would like to ask you if you would be my co-teacher."

"I see."

"I could ask Flitwick..."

"That won't be necessary," Snape said, a bit too quickly, "I will do it."

"Thank you! Will Wednesdays at eight be alright with you?"

"Fine," he said. "Leave now, I have essays to correct."

"Very well. Should we meet after dinner to discuss the curriculum? My office?" Andy got up from the chair.

"Seven o'clock would be better."

"See you there then."

She almost sighed out of relief when she left Snape's office. No, the man did not like her!

After a trying class with the third-years Andy had some free hours before it was time for lunch where she was very happy to sit down among grown-ups. Sinistra saw Andy's harrowed face and put her hand on Andy's arm.

"Was it that bad?"

Andy gave her a faint smile:

"It was okay, but Merlin's balls, some students are so daft I feel sorry for them..."

"Welcome to my world," Snape muttered and sat down, "Dunderheads not fit to shovel niffler manure, that's what most of them are."

Snape was in a very foul mood and was not looking forward to the Potions with Potter he would have at the end of the day. He snapped at the two second-year Hufflepuffs that weren't fast enough out of the classroom and they scuttled away. 'Idiot children,' he thought and grimaced as he took the stairs up to the main hall in a few long steps, his black robes billowing behind him. Sinistra and Andy were discussing students and when Andy said something about daft students he replied with a snide remark. To his surprise she looked at him and said very calmly that she thought that he was being unfair. He was so chocked that he couldn't even reply and ate his lunch in silence. No one ever talked back to him; except for students with a death wish! It wasn't until he was back in his office that he thought of all the things he should have said to shut her up. He vowed to let that little pierced redheaded freak have a piece of his mind!

He barely looked at her when they sat down for dinner and when she asked if the meeting still was on at seven, he only confirmed it with a short nod. No one pissed off Severus Machiavelli Snape without regretting it!

Andy didn't even realize that Snape wasn't talking to her at dinner: she had a terrible headache after the last class for the day, a double with third-year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, and had tried to cure it with a short lie-down before dinner, but it wasn't helping. She could barely finish her meal and decided to go back to her rooms and have another nap before the meeting with Snape. She left with jaws tightly clenched to keep the migraine at bay.

Andy threw her robe on the sofa, and something fluttered down on the floor. She picked it up and recognized the letter from her grandmother. Oh yes, she had forgotten all about it with the headache and all. 'Well, a perfect ending to a perfect day,' she thought and sat down in one of the plush chairs to read it. Two minutes later she threw the crumpled letter into the fire and buried her face in her hands.

"For fuck's sake, gran, I am not going to give up teaching for the family business," she groaned.

Nevermore flew down from the chandelier where he had been sitting and landed on Andy's shoulder, softly nibbling her ear. She stroke his shiny black feathers and slowly shook her head.

"Won't I ever be free from them?"

"Nevermore."

Andy snorted:

"I'm afraid I agree."

She got up from the chair, still with Nevermore on her shoulder, and went to her study where she took out a small vial from one of the desk drawers.

"Shite, the last one," she mumbled and took the flask with her to the bathroom where she emptied it in a glass of water and drank it, grimacing at the taste. She barely had the time to make a mental note to ask Snape if she could use his Potions classroom for some potion-making of her own, before she slumped down on the bed; sleeping even before her head touched the pillow.

Snape knocked on the door to the DADA office – what should have been his office – one more time, wondering where the hell Andy was. Finally the door was opened and a very dishevelled Andy munching on a piece of chocolate asked him to enter. She yawned big as she walked over to a bookshelf and took out a bottle of Ogden's from behind some books, pouring herself a large one and raising her eyebrows at Snape.

"Yes please."

She poured him one too and asked him to sit down in of the chairs in front of the fireplace.

"So, since you were part of the old Duelling class, do you have any ideas," Andy asked and hid another yawn behind her hand.

Snape just stared at her. All the nasty remarks he had conjured during the afternoon had disappeared at the sight of the young woman, who looked worse than a hag at the moment.

"I...," he began, "I... Yes. A good idea would be to start with defensive hexes and then moving up to attacking."

"Right," Andy said. The nap, the chocolate and the whiskey were working their magic and she was slowly beginning to come back to life.

"Which years? The first years seem a bit too young, I think..."

"I'd rather not admit fifth-years and younger," Snape said but Andy shook her head:

"No, I think that the fifth-years should be included. I'd like to take all, actually, but I can at least agree to draw the limit at fifth-years and up. I don't think that the younger students have the necessary wand-skills."

Snape nodded and looked at the amber liquid in his glass. It was a long time since he had tasted such a good Ogden's. Andy followed his gaze and knew what he was thinking.

"1921," she said, "It's an Ogden's Old from 1921. A very good year."

"Good? It was the best!" Snape eyed Andy with suspicion.

"It also costs a rather fine amount of galleons," he said, "I didn't know that newly-appointed Defence professors made that kind of money."

"They don't," Andy said and smiled. "It was a graduation gift from my uncle."

"He has good taste."

"Sometimes." Andy licked the last of the chocolate of her fingers, not noticing how Snape's eyes suddenly seemed to bulge.

"So, Wednesdays at eight then, starting from next week," she said. "What about meeting in the Great Hall ten minutes before to set everything up?"

"Yes, fine," Snape said and swept the rest of the whiskey in one gulp before getting up. "I will tell Filch to put up a notice."

"Good, and I'll tell Dumbledore what we have agreed on." Andy stood up too, still with the whiskey tumbler in her hand. "Oh, and if you ever feel like another Ogden's, you only have to knock."

Snape stopped for a second, but didn't turn around.

"I will remember that," he said over his shoulder without looking at her, and then left.

Andy finished off her whiskey and put back the bottle in the bookshelf. It took her a few minutes to remember that she had forgotten to ask Snape if she could use his classroom. Well, she could ask him at breakfast. Now she had to prepare the classes for the next day.