Disclaimer: All Harry Potter people, places, and things, (all Harry Potter nouns) belong to J. K. Rowlings. Desiree Snape and Eleanora Snape are mine.

Chapter 4: Making adjustments.

Nora had gone to look for her room as the Gryffindors were led to the dormitories. As soon as she reached it, she headed directly to her owl's cage. She opened the door and let the Ural owl sit on her arm. "I hope you've been behaving yourself, Penelope," she stated as she stroked the owl's feathers.

A moment later, Nora's two roommates entered the room. She could tell that one was in her second year while the other was in her third. The older girl approached her. "Hello. My name is Hermione. You're not a first-year, are you?" she inquired.

Nora shook her head. "This is my third year. I transferred from one of the American schools. I'm Eleanora Nadya, but I prefer to go by Nora," she extended her owl-free hand.

The two girls shook hands as the younger one, a perky red-head, walked over to them. "My name's Ginny," she stated as she shook Nora's hand.

"It's nice to meet you both. This beautiful creature here is Penelope. She's very polite and will probably let you pet her," Nora mentioned as the other girls eyed the owl.

After petting the owl, the girls rummaged through their belongings. As the girls unpacked, Hermione turned back to Nora. "Nora, is your last name 'Snape?'"

She set her clothes in a few drawers and closed them. "Yes," she replied simply.

Ginny crinkled her nose as she unpacked a few of her heavier books. "Doesn't that mean you're related to Professor Snape?"

"He's my cousin. Actually, he's my third cousin, which means that my grandparents were his first cousins. However, that's usually too confusing to explain so I'll just leave it at saying he's my cousin," Nora admitted. She looked at the shock written on the faces of her roommates. "You two act like it's a bad thing," she added with a wry smile.

After they had unpacked, the three girls wandered down to the Common Room. Harry and Ron sat in chairs discussing the train incident, but stopped when they noticed the girls. They stood and walked over to Nora. The boy with the same red hair as Ginny spoke first.

"Hello, my name's Ron. Did you transfer here?" he asked as they shook hands.

"Yes, I did. I'm from America, Arizona to be specific. I'm Eleanora, but all of you can call me Nora," she stated.

Her brilliant crystal-blue eyes locked with the green ones of the other boy and they seemed to analyze each other for a few seconds. "I'm Harry," the other boy finally said, extending his hand.

She shook it and something neither could put words to seemed to pass between them. For that one instant they could understand each other perfectly. Each saw glimpses of the other's childhood and personality. Nora quickly stepped back shyly. "I- I suppose the two of you are third-years also?" she inquired.

They nodded and Nora noticed the unmistakable scar on Harry's head. I'm sorry, she thought, recalling what had happened to his parents.

"That's alright," he said aloud.

The others stared at him strangely. "What's alright, mate?" Ron asked.

Harry eyed Nora before answering, "I was just thinking about some of our classes and I suppose I was thinking out loud."

Ginny and Hermione broke into a discussion about classes they were looking forward to and Ron began to chime in. Nora took the opportunity to walk over to the fireplace and sit by the flames. She did not have to look up when Harry joined her. "So how did you to that?" he finally asked her.

She sighed and looked at her hands. "I didn't mean for you to hear me. I don't really know how to control it. I know what other people are thinking and I can show them what I'm thinking."

"Does anyone else know that you can do that?" he questioned in a quiet tone.

"My grandparents knew, but they're dead now. My mom is the only other person who would know," she mentioned quietly. She glanced at the embers glowing peacefully and then she became absorbed in the glow herself.

Harry watched as the fireplace distracted her and the more she watched it, the more she looked at peace and the more he felt at peace. "What are you doing?" he whispered.

She jumped and the mood was broken. "What do you mean? I was watching the fire."

He realized that she could be unaware of her abilities. "You were in some kind of mood and managed to spread it beyond yourself."

"I think I should be going. I need to look over a few books," she stated, standing quickly and dashing off toward her room. Harry continued to watch the fire and wondered what surprises awaited them for the next few days.

Nora sat with Harry, Ron, and Hermione in Divination, staring at the window and trying not to look at Professor Sybil Trelawney. This class is so totally boring. We look at leftover clumps of tealeaves in cups and we have crystal balls. I know I can't see the future, so what the heck am I doing here? I wish I was-

Her thoughts were interrupted when Sybil walked over to her. "You have two options, Miss Snape. You can either keep your negative opinions to yourself, or prepare for detention." With that she walked toward the center of the room again and continued lecturing.

"I really have to stop doing that," she whispered under her breath, knowing that she had accidentally broadcasted her thoughts again.

Things went smoothly for Nora until Draco provoked the hippogriff into attacking him. She thought that a creature you had to bow to in order to address was magnificent and people who were not polite to it got what they deserved. That evening when Draco was complaining about his arm, she met him outside in the hall. He turned around sharply when he felt someone tapping him on the shoulder.

"You dare to touch me? I'll need to have this uniform cleaned now to get rid of your American filth," he spat.

She glared at him with a sharp, penetrating stare. "You really need manners. How dare you cause trouble for Professor Hagrid and upset the class!"

"Aren't you a nosy tart!" he retorted.

"You're an arrogant, stuck up, pig-headed, whiney brat," she told him frankly.

"And you don't know how to address your betters," Draco countered as he backhanded her with his good hand.

She had not anticipated the blow, but was still standing after it. Reaching up to touch the side of her mouth, she pulled her and away and noticed the blood on it. She glared at him viciously, but spoke in a calm manner. "I don't have to take this garbage from someone who's too full of himself to see that the world doesn't revolve around him."

As she walked away with Ron, Harry, and Hermione, she pointed her wand over her shoulder and whispered something. The others glanced behind them and watched as Draco's clothes vanished except his boxers. "That was brilliant!" Ron exclaimed to Nora.

"Professor McGonagall! Professor, one of the…" they all heard as Draco went over to Minerva, who had just stepped out into the hall.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted," Nora told the others before Minerva instructed her to come to her office.

Minerva sighed heavily, watching the girl who sat in front of her. Nora tried to look at anything in the room accept the professor and found herself staring at her hands again. "Do you plan to tell me what happened, Miss Snape?" Minerva asked in her professor's tone.

When the girl finally faced her, Minerva noticed her incredibly blue eyes. "Malfoy and I had an argument. He hit me, so I left him standing here in his boxers."

Minerva then noticed the blood on the girl's lip. She silently cursed herself for not realizing that Nora had been provoked. Nora expected a tirade and then detention, but Minerva had other plans. "Miss Snape, I want you to go to the infirmary and let the nurse take care of you. I will see that Mr. Malfoy is punished for his ill treatment of you. I have to take ten points away from Gryffindor because you were in a fight and you did retaliate, and I have to ask you to be more prudent with your magic, but I see no need to give you detention. You are dismissed."

Nora nodded and left, heading to the infirmary. Minerva decided to owl Severus, asking him to meet her at 9:00 that evening in her rooms. While she was waiting for him, she could only pace nervously. I sincerely hope this discussion goes better than the last one. I promise to make an effort to be amiable and less distant. I truly want to help him, she rationalized.

When Severus had received the note, he surmised that it might have something to do with one or both of his cousins. This time I'll try to be more polite. I should have left less abruptly. I did ask her help in this endeavor after all, he reasoned as he reached her door.

At the appointed time, she heard a knock at the door. She opened it to find Severus and ushered him into the sitting room. "Hello Severus."

He took a seat in one of her armchairs and noticed the teapot and teacups. "Hello Minerva."

"Would you like some tea?" she offered. He noted that her tone seemed slightly more personal somehow.

He nodded. "Please."

She poured him a cup and then poured one for herself before sitting in her other armchair. When he sipped it, he noticed that it was a pleasant blend of raspberry tea. "It's a particular favourite of mine, the tea," Minerva mentioned.

"And it is quite good, but I know you brought me here for more than tea," Severus remarked.

Minerva nodded. "It's about your cousin. I've noticed that she has a few disciplinary problems."

He sighed. "I know she gets into trouble frequently, but she really does not mean to."

"I suspect that she has a problem with rules. Her problem is not that she does not follow rules; it is that she follows her own rules instead of ours," Minerva pointed out.

"What did she do today?" he inquired, taking another sip of tea.

"Apparently she and Mr. Malfoy had a disagreement and he struck her. I sent her to the infirmary after talking to her because her lip was bleeding. What happened was-"

He cut her off and she noted irritation in his eyes. "What did you do to Malfoy for striking her?"

Her face flushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry I didn't realize he had struck her until later. Apparently after he had hit her, she made his clothes disappear, save his boxers. I happened to be in the area and he blamed the entire thing on her. I did not realize that he had caused her to do that until I spoke to her. Mr. Malfoy still needs to be dealt with," she explained.

He finished the tea and set his cup down. "I will deal with him myself."

She nodded and looked away for a moment before facing him again. "Now that we've settled that, there is still her problem with the rules."

"Nora's a Snape. As a whole, the family is known for living by its own code," he reminded with a wry smile.

Minerva rolled her eyes. "I am well aware of that, but it is best for her education if such excuses aren't permitted. She needs to be made aware of the necessity of following our rules. I'm telling you this because you are her guardian and it might be better for her if you told her."

Dumbfounded, he stared at her. "How did you know I was her guardian?"

"The answer is simple: only her guardian would have asked me to look out for her. I will do my best to see that she is alright," she conveyed kindly.

"I know, and I cannot thank you enough. I also realize that you would not do this for just anyone, but you tried to do it for me and I've asked you to do it for her," he said quietly.

He rose to leave and she followed him to the door. "Is there anything else about her that I ought to know?"

Pausing in contemplation, he stared at his shoes for a minute. When he faced her he was surprised by how close she had moved toward him. "Desiree was going to tell me something, but she never got the chance to. There may be a few other things that we ought to keep an eye on regarding Nora."

Minerva smiled as she scrutinized him. "She reminds me of you, stubborn, living by her own rules, finding herself in unintentional trouble." Then she added in a low tone, "I don't intend to fail this time."

Severus saw the conviction in her eyes. "You've never failed. I would not let you help. The mess I was swallowed by was my own doing, definitely not yours," he whispered, reassuring her.

She gave him a small smile. "I will keep you informed if anything else happens to her."

"I know you will. Once again, thank you. Goodnight Minerva," he remarked.

"You are welcome. Goodnight Severus," she added.

They nodded politely to each other and he left. For the rest of the evening, both would review their conversation as they drifted off to sleep, amazed at the difference a little effort in being more cordial could produce.

Severus found Draco sitting in the Slytherin Common Room. He looked up from the book he was reading to find the head of his house in a foul mood. "Alright Malfoy, you have some explaining to do regarding today's mishaps," Severus stated.

"That stupid new Gryffindor pest insulted me and then she made my clothes disappear!" Draco expressed.

"You left out the part when you hit her," he reminded.

"She- she provoked me," he began.

Severus glared at the boy. "I'm deducting twenty-five points from Slytherin for fighting, and another twenty-five for harming a young lady."

"But-" Draco intended to argue and Severus would not permit it.

"There is one more thing, she is my cousin and therefore you are not to lay a finger on her again, do I make myself clear?" he demanded.

"Yes, sir," muttered Draco on the way back to his room. Severus sat back in the chair and thought of how Desiree was doing in her work.

Desiree arrived early on Tuesday morning, as she usually did, to assist Remus. She stared in awe at the classroom as she entered the open door. She had always found the suspended dragon fascinating since she had begun helping Remus. She was still admiring the dragon as she strode into the classroom only looking up. However, she failed to see the professor who, having discovered he had a hole in one of his pockets, was crouched on the ground looking for loose change. She suddenly bumped into him and found herself sprawled on the ground.

He immediately rushed over to help her. "I'm so sorry about that. Are you alright, Ms. Snape?" he questioned as he extended a hand to pull her to her feet.

Having steadied herself she nodded. "Everything seems fine for the most part," she conveyed with a reassuring smile. "I'm sorry I didn't see you, and as I've told you before, I'd really prefer if you called me Desiree. I'm not exactly fond of my last name."

"I think I can do that," he stated, noticing that she had begun to analyze him. "Was there something else?"

She smiled wryly and pulled out her wand. "I know why I tripped over you. Your pocket has a hole in it and you were probably picking up some change or something else that had fallen out."

He chuckled as she repaired his pocket with a sewing spell. "Are you attempting to be Sherlock Holmes?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm just observant once in a while." As he walked over to a box and unpacked a record player, Desiree raised an eyebrow. "What are we doing today? I assume you'll be playing background music."

"I'm teaching them about boggarts and how not to let them cause trouble," he explained. She noticed as he began looking at the various tables for something. "Desiree, have you seen…" he trailed off as she handed him his lesson plan. "Ah, thank you."

A small smile played at the corners of her mouth. "You left it on top of the record player. You're not usually so absent-minded. Is anything bothering you?"

He shook his head. "Actually no, I'm just hoping that the students enjoy the lesson."

She seemed as though she had more to ask him, but held back. Why did Severus teach your class when you were sick? I know I had a bad cold for the rest of that week, but shouldn't I be the substitute? I know I can do it if you give me the chance, the thought to herself as she looked at the wardrobe containing the boggart and tried to imagine the students' reactions.

Later in the day when the students arrived, Desiree enjoyed watching them change the boggart into humorous creatures. One of her favourites was the tap-dancing spider. Then it was Nora's turn. She watched as her daughter stood, bold as usual. The boggart that emerged was a black-haired girl with bright blue eyes, but her glare was deadly. She wore smoke-black robes caked with blood and her wand was poised for attack.

Nora could feel her mind being invaded by the boggart. You never belonged on that side and you know it. Do what you were born to do. You'll always be too dangerous, so give up now and join those who can make you more powerful, the voice in her head seemed to whisper. Remus considered intervening when Nora suddenly pushed the other voice out of her head and shouted, "Ridikulus!"

When the boggart became a mime, Nora quietly moved to the back of the room and slipped out of the door for a moment. Breathing heavily, she knew her insides were shaking. Inside everyone watched as Harry's boggart became a dementor. Remus jumped in front of it and Desiree watched with interest as his boggart became the full moon. He dismissed the class and she began tidying up the room.

Harry found Nora outside of the classroom leaning against the wall as the students filed out. He was the only one who noticed her. "Nora, are you alright?" he asked, concern showing in his green eyes.

She nodded. "Yes, I'm just a little shaken. You probably think I'm crazy for being afraid of myself."

He shook his head. "Mine was a dementor. Everybody has reasons why certain things frighten them. I am curious about your boggart thought."

They conversed as they walked together. "My biggest fear is becoming a deatheater and having my mind raided for evil purposes. That's what I saw," she told him frankly.

He thought for a moment. "That's probably a smart thing to fear. If you fear yourself, then-

"Then I will fight against not becoming that version of myself," she finished. Nora glanced at her watch and moved from the wall quickly. They quickly headed to their next classes in record speed.

Desiree worried about her daughter's boggart and reaction, but she continued cleaning, realizing that the great Harry Potter had befriended the girl. As she swept the room, she did not realize that the broom bumped the wardrobe containing the boggart. As the door opened, Remus turned as he and Desiree saw authorities from Azkaban and the Ministry of Magic. She gulped as they came toward her and shouted, "Ridikulus!"

The boggart changed and the people began splattering the room with pies. Remus and Desiree both received a pie in the face before he forced the boggart back into the wardrobe. She wiped the pie from her eyes and slowly looked around the room. Then at him and sighed heavily. "I'm so sorry. Here I am supposed to help you and I make a gigantic mess of things."

He brushed a clump of pie crust from her shoulder. "You've nothing to be sorry about. It was actually quite funny. You shouldn't be so upset over a bit of pie. It looks as though you and I were hit with different flavors. Actually, I think the room's been decorated with different flavors. Now I wonder which of these are blueberry pies," he said chuckling.

She giggled and stood closer to him. "I think you might have banana cream, but I don't see any bananas." Then she surprised both of them by standing on her tiptoes and pulling him down toward her by his collar. She kissed both his cheeks, taking pie filling with her as she released him. "You have lemon meringue."

Suddenly she blushed and the parts of her face not covered by pie filling turned a fiery red. How could I have been so brazen and impulsive? What on earth was I thinking? He's going to think I'm no better than one of those girls who hangs out in bars, she worried. She could not look him in the eyes as she spoke.

"I apologize for being incredibly impulsive. I can't imagine what you must think of me. I tend to do things before thinking of the consequences. I'm really sorry if I offended you-" she rambled.

He cut her off by gently placing his thumb over her mouth. "I don't mind. The fact that you are spontaneous makes you interesting to know and," he paused to remove his hand and licked it, "I couldn't possibly be cross with someone who was wearing my favourite kind of pie, blueberry."

"I'll keep that in mind, especially if I ever-" she was interrupted again, this time by Remus' owl.

The creature had a letter tied to its leg. Remus read it and faced Desiree. "You and I are to attend a staff meeting in fifteen minutes."

Because of the remaining pie on his face, she could not read his expression. "That could be a problem. There is much more of a mess than there's time to clean it up. How should we go about cleaning this huge mess?" she asked.

He pulled out his wand. "You use magic of course."

Together they cleaned the room with various spells and eventually cleaned themselves, save a few small pieces of pie here and there. They arrived at the staff meeting two minutes late. Severus approached them and spoke with sarcasm.

"I'm glad to see that the two of you could grace us with your presence." He studied her hair and flicked pieces of pie from it. "Is that pie in your hair?"

Desiree smirked. "Yes, we were late because we had cleaning to do. There was an incident with the boggart involving several pies."

He sighed and shook his head. "Please tell me you weren't trying to bake pies again," he commented wryly.

She took a seat. "No, I learned my lesson the first time."

He sat in a wing-back chair next to Minerva. "Are you done lecturing your cousin about being late?" she whispered in a sardonic tone.

"We were speaking about the pies. The poor woman cannot cook desert to save her life. The last time she tried to bake a pie, it ended up as modern art on the wall in front of the stove. To this day I haven't been able to discover exactly how she caused the oven to spit the pie out like that," he told her, snickering. She smiled and the meeting began.

After the meeting, Severus observed Desiree leaving the room with Remus. A sour taste appeared in his mouth when he thought of his cousin dating a werewolf. He exited the staff room, leaned up against the wall, sighed, and closed his eyes. When he sensed someone in front of him his eyes flew open.

"You are tired of trying to take care of them both, aren't you?" Minerva hypothesized. He moved away from the wall and began walking to his next class as she accompanied him.

"It is more work than I ever imagined. If I thought I could trust Desiree, I would, but she isn't known for always having good judgment," he told her flatly.

"Give her some time. She is still adjusting and trying to learn where she belongs," Minerva advised.

"I wish things could be that simple," he said as they parted ways and he headed into the dungeons.

"Sometimes they are," she whispered to his quickly disappearing shadow.

(my thanks to Leta McGotor and Quill of Minerva for reviewing :D)