Chapter 2: First Impressions and Cookie Rants
And as he entered the Infirmary, he became highly aware of the increase in blood flow the warmth of the indoors had caused due to the fact that blood was steadily staining his robes, and the floor.
" Oh My Gods Severus??!!" Poppy rushed over to the dark haired man. "What's happened??!!" She exclaimed, leading him to a bed where he set her down and she began her work. Self-inflicted wounds were much more difficult to heal. Severus just sat down on a nearby chair dully and looked at Poppy, then to the now unconscious woman on the bed.
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Such a calm and serene person she'd been. Making impressions and then breaking them was her style. She loved to surprise people, but never like this. Why he remembered the first day everyone had met her...
" ...and so without further adieu, I wish to present you're new defense against the dark arts teacher: Professor Lorien!" Dumbledore had finished his beginning of the year speech as usual, with the introduction of the newest addition to the Hogwarts staff. And what an impression she'd made...
The doors to the great hall all but flew open and in walked a woman of average height, with all the confidence, coldness, emotionless and powerfully intimidating presence that one would expect to find in the aura of Severus Snape. Her scarlet robes billowed out behind her, showing off the blood red Chinese dress she wore, with silver embroidery of roses throughout the silky fabric. Though it was long, the skirt had slits up to her mid thighs, and she wore black tights underneath along with black, calf high boots adorned with silver laces. Her hair was long, auburn and wavy and flew out behind her as she walked briskly down the aisle. That is until she pulled out a rather dark violet chopstick and skillfully pulled hair up with no more than a few quick gestures of her hands.
A beauty she seemed, pale skin with not a blemish in sight, dark brown eyes and looked almost orange in the light of the candles. Red lips, with only the tiniest hint of gloss, and black liner around her eyes to add to the dark mysterious look. And quite the curvaceous body to boot. Perfectly proportioned, in the way that she upheld what the gods had given her.
The students had no Idea what to think about her. They were expecting another Severus Snape the moment she entered the room. Her eyes held nothing but a bored and slightly amused look, and her mouth was nothing but a rather tight line. She'd made her way to the staff table, and much to Severus' disliking, the empty seat at the end of the table right next to him.
Right before she reached the table she gave the students a sweeping glare of a look, one that said "Don't Fuck With Me..." and left room for many ideas of what an "Or Else" could be.
And right before she sat down...She gave another sweeping look; with the warmest smile and the brightest brown eyes any of the students had ever received.
It was an action that had caused Severus to shake his head in his own amusement as talking and murmurs rose from all tables. She looked at him with a smug look and seeing his amazingly arduous eye roll, proceeded to ignore him for the rest of the meal, as he did to her.
At the moment she'd entered he'd thought she would be easy to hate. As he'd learn within the next few months, he was quite wrong.
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Once the bleeding had slowed, Poppy called Dumbledore down to the infirmary. "It's quite urgent Albus! It's Anya." She then turned to Severus, "What's Happened??"
" She-" The potions master begun in all seriousness as a very worried Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress rushed in. The two walked quickly over to the woman's bedside, examining her wounds gently.
"I was afraid of this..." Dumbledore sighed. He then looked towards Severus, who wore the same confused expression now, that Minerva Magonagal did. "Please continue Severus." Severus nodded and continued on.
" She...slit her own wrists out on her balcony." He admitted to them all, yet the look on Dumbledore's face told him to tell the whole story. "Albus...I was concerned when I got no answer, and so entered her chambers, without so much as a lock on the door to keep me out. They are entirely red, every shade imaginable...but there was a haze of cigarette smoke, ashtrays and empty Marlboro pack everywhere. And bottles of 100% alcohol Sake everywhere...." He took a deep breath, trying to forget the look on her face when he'd found her and continued. "And When I found her on her balcony...she had only what you see her in now to keep the cold away, a half burnt cigarette still lit and burning in her mouth, and a half empty bottle in her hand that shattered as it fell from her grasp. Albus...it was like she wasn't even there! She was looking out at nothing, and crying and she never even noticed when the bottle shattered." Snape composed himself a bit before continuing. "Albus..Why were you afraid this might happen?"
" Because Severus...of her experience which gives her such a right to teach the students. It is because of what such experiences have left deep in her heart and soul that I was afraid of this. Severus, Minerva, Poppy...this girl is very much alone." The tone of voice, the deep sigh, the look in his eyes of pure honesty and knowing...everyone went silent.
It was very true.
No family.
No friends.
No godparents.
Nothing but her raven Pahlin and her memories which she wished weren't there.
Severus was again quite confused, as were Minerva and Poppy. This girl had no one? But she'd always been so upbeat...so happy.
Except for her eyes.
It was as if they all had an epiphany at the exact same moment, and with knowing looked at each other all at once.
She had a presence that could make the entire great hall smile on the worst of days. But she also had her secrets.
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The young DADA professor knocked gently on the doors to the personal chambers of one Severus Snape. It was a Saturday and she was casually dressed under light red robes in a white Tunic looking shirt with silver trim and black Flairs with her signature black boots peaking out from under the belled flair of her jeans. Had she not been cold, she'd have left the robes off. Her hair was again, up in a dark colored chopstick, it would only get in the way after all.
The door opened to a scowling Severus in black jeans and dark green button up shirt, buttoned almost all the way up. He motioned her inside quite involuntarily and she merely smiled as she entered his humble abode for the school year. He'd recently ( as in about oh...20 minutes ago) received a letter by house elf from Dumbledore. ( Poor creature looked like it was ready to wet itself...) explaining why she'd be showing up at his door at 3 in the afternoon on a lovely crisp Saturday a week before Halloween.
He scowled deeply and glared icy daggers at her back as she took in his rooms.
She smiled so happily he felt he might puke from the sheer cheerfulness of the wide grin.
Funny how it would not occur to him that the puke-worthy smile had never reached her eyes until her life was on the line.
As she'd expected, the personal chambers of Severus Snape were...dark.
Not dreary...just...dark.
A cozy dark.
To her left a small sitting area, there was a rather large fireplace with a Slytherin banner hanging over it, and two dark green chairs facing it, with a small, dark, wooden table between them. On the mantel, a quarter empty bottle of Fire-whiskey sat, she made a note of that. And too the right of the small entry way she saw double doors the lead unmistakably to his bedroom. Why? Because straight ahead was a study, with a large bookshelf stuffed with books, and a rather large yet lovely desk. ( Mahogany considering how dark and nice the wood was, with nickel handles. She'd had one just like it once...) He walked over to the bookcase and pulled randomly placed book, a doorway opened right in front of her and she stepped back, startled. Then he headed down the 20 or so stairs with her following close behind.
They stopped at the bottom and so were both standing in the only private potions lab in Hogwarts.
Which was unfortunately in the possession of the scowling, sneering, quite unpleasant potions master.
But Anya kept on smiling in that warm; I'm going to puke its so happy, way.
Severus turned a glare onto her that had made many a student, and even the occasional teacher turn on there heals or run from the room crying. She however, didn't even flinch.
" This is absolutely wonderful Severus!" She smiled more. ( How that was even possible he did NOT want to know.) Motioning around the room where shelves in the walls were stuffed and stocked with potions supplies ranging from powered mandrake root to Dragon-scales of 12 different varieties at least. "I have no doubt you have everything I'll need! You...you umm are aware why I needed to come see you this afternoon correct?" She asked tentatively. He gave her a curt not.
"Quite." He replayed the information in that letter back and forth in his mind. This girl was much more than she appeared to be. While being a witch since birth, some of her experiences had...changed her. After spending a good number of years in a certain realm of existence...she was no longer human. "You spent far too much time in a place called Makai, aptly translated to Demon World and NOT the small island off the coast of Japan. Thus you were changed, as Makai tends to do that to people. You are now a half-breed panther demon. I'm aware that this potion is to counter that blood and keep you looking human. It is a once a month dosage correct?"
She nodded and added quietly "That's not everything though..." she looked at the floor as he looked at her.
" And what else is there Miss Lorien?" He asked snidely.
" I have wings too that I have to hide." She said reluctantly. Suddenly spreading a lovely white pair of angelic looking wings behind her. "Makai changed me in more ways then one." She shrugged as she folded her wings behind her back nonchalantly. Severus rose a delicate eyebrow in her direction for a moment before turning towards the shelves and pulling down several ingredients.
Once the cauldron was bubbling he pointed to each ingredient. "These you add now, then you add the tears sprinkling in a counterclockwise circle. After that it must simmer for 20 minutes, no more no less." He then opened a jar of bright red dragon scales. "The Scarlet Madagascar dragon scales go in immediately after the 20 minutes is up and you must put in exactly 12. After that you add those crushed whiskers in a clockwise circle and let the potion simmer for another hour. After that, it should be a shimmery blood red. Is that all clear to you?" He sneered, acting as if she were another Gryfindor imbecile.
She smiled not so much happy, but mischievously. Something he'd only ever seen on the faces of those horrid Weasly twins.
' Oh dear...' he thought for a second before turning back to his own potion and ignoring her completely. That is until that last hour of simmering came and she got bored after 10 minutes.
Suddenly Severus felt a light jab in his back. Knowing it was HER he just up and ignored it. He also ignored the next 20 pokes in his lower back, reveling in the fact that the little half-breed was getting VERY annoyed. Then he felt a jab in the ribs and involuntarily squeaked. She smirked at the reaction and poked his other side, earning herself another squeak and a growl. But he still hadn't turned to face her so she poked him again, with both hands in both sides. He growled again and turned a glare on her. "WHAT??" He all but yelled at the innocently smiling brunette with her hands placed suddenly conveniently behind her back.
" Nooothing." She smiled and walked back to the potion that was slowly turning red, as it should be. Severus sighed deeply and turned back to his work. 5 minutes later he felt another jab in his side and glared at her again.
"Yes??" He hissed out slowly, to keep his composure and not THROTTLE the girl!
She stood next to him and nonchalantly stared at his potion, considering a standard healing potion really isn't supposed to turn puce with a violet steam, she figured she's succeed in more than annoying him today. "I want...a cookie!" She exclaimed as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "A big cookie! With lots of chocolate chips!" She began walking around him casually and continued as he tried to return to his brewing. The distraction of her never-ending talk of cookies enough to keep him from noticing violet smoke turning blue rapidly while the potion turned yellow. ( it was a simple potion for healing cuts, and it was SUPPOSED to be LIGHT PINK.)
" I LOVE cookies! What about you Severus? What's you're favorite kind of cookie?" She went on and on with the potions master watching her with an incredulous look on his face the likes of "What The Hells Is She Doing??!!" "I mean cookies are soooo good! And there's sooooo many kinds!" And then the worst..She began to list them off with a cheery voice as she bottled her blood red potion. "Chocolate Chip cookies, Oatmeal cookies, Oatmeal Raisin cookies, Peanut butter cookies, Peanut butter walnut cookies, butter cookies, Chocolate chocolate chip cookies, White chocolate chip cookies, White chocolate macadamia nut cookies, Walnut cookies, Almond cookies...So many! Oh dear...look at that all bottled and ready for me to take in my rooms." The potion behind Severus had begun to bubble and was now a bright lemon yellow. "Thanks for the lesson in making the counter potion! I'll be back in a month! Bye!" She then did something he'd never expected; she hugged him around the waist and then hightailed her arse out of there.
There was a boom as she closed the door to his study and a scream in anger and well, anger as she ran towards the door. Just as she closed it, she saw the sight of Severus Snape, covered in Yellow goop with violet smoke coiling off of him, while now violet eyes glared at everything.
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Ever since that day...she'd come down once a month for the potion, and then kept up a once a week visit just to annoy him. That cookie thing was something that had become a tradition between the two. Fancy that...Severus Snape had a tradition with a disturbingly cheerful, yet apparently depressed young woman.
" uhgn...Severus..." The moan was low; the word was nearly inaudible, but just audible enough for everyone to hear it. And despite himself, he went to her bedside and grasped her hand tightly in his. The pale skin of her hand was freezing compared to the warmth of his.
" I'm here Anya...I'm here."
Albus, Minerva and Poppy looked at each other knowingly and left them alone.
Severus summoned a chair up to her bedside and sat down, still grasping her hand in his and praying she'd wake up soon.
Anya was stuck however, in her own mind in a replay of memories. Severus Snape had been the one staple in her life the past few months so he shared the memories running through her head now. All she had to do was break out of the loop.
In her head
Another memory...
" Miss Lorien, I see you've chosen quite the hands on approach to Defense." The unmistakable voice of Severus spoke out into her classroom of 6th year students. She smiled at him standing at the head of her class motioning Hermoine granger to throw her strongest curse.
" No better way to teach them Professor, at least in my opinion." She looked back at Hermoine. "Now than Miss. Granger, Attack me."
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