Severus woke up early the next morning – in a worse mood than he had gone to sleep in, if that was possible. He had tossed and turned all night. His first thought of the day was for the stranger – and the babysitting duty he very much resented. 'How could they all be so okay with this?' He thought to himself. 'Nobody has any idea the extent of her powers – or where her allegiance lies.' He played over the nights events carefully in his head.
They had been in a staff meeting discussing the progress of various students when Dumbledore broke into the conversation. "I believe we have company."
The silver orb on the desk shimmered blue for a moment, and then the image of a redhead appeared. The girl was beautiful, but Severus had learned long ago to not be fooled by a pretty face. They had all watched in silence as she dismounted a black stallion and said something in its ear. The stallion turned back, running towards the dark forest, and the strange girl turned towards the school. Lupin was the first to offer to intercept her – to find out what she wanted. Dumbledore, however, had thought that gesture unnecessary, saying the girl would find them.
"So you know who she is?" questioned McGonagall.
"I have a few ideas." Dumbledore, for one, was obviously not the least bit surprised at the visitor. "I have long suspected she would show here eventually."
"How did she get past our defenses?" McGonagall continued.
"I believe that is a question we should ask her."
Just then the office door opened, and the girl strode in, immediately addressing the Minerva. "I wasn't aware you had any." She turned her focus to the headmaster sitting before her. "My name is Andraste. I have come from very far and was wondering if I might stay here a while?"
"This is not a boarding house, Andraste." Severus had quickly informed her.
"I was not asking you, Professor Snape."
"How do you know my name?" he had demanded. The girl had only given him a smirk in response.
"Of course you are welcome here, Andraste." The twinkle in his eyes got even brighter and Severus couldn't help but think the old man was up to something. He had wanted to object, but Dumbledore launched into a diatribe about an old friend and a missing student. Without directly saying so, Albus had made it clear to Andraste and every professor present that he trusted her – and had every intention of keeping her at Hogwarts for quite a while.
Severus huffed audibly, dreading going down to breakfast, down to that irritating woman that had somehow become his responsibility. Knowing there was no way to avoid it, he changed into his robes and set off towards the Great Hall.
Dumbledore surveyed the room before him. Students had flooded in surprisingly early, no doubt due to the rumors about the woman that was engrossed in conversation with Remus. He had overheard some of the speculation about who she might be. At the Griffindore table someone had suggested that she may be another official from the Ministry of Magic, but Fred and George had dismissed it, insisting that pretty women didn't work there. Dumbledore laughed at that, thinking that if Umbridge was an accurate representation, the twins were probably right. Just then Albus heard a resounding thud to his right. Without looking up he knew who was responsible for the harsh closing of the hall door. Only the Potions Master made so brisk of an entrance. He watched as Severus scowled at the occupants of the room before him, then sat and made quick work of his breakfast. Dumbledore returned his focus to his new professor – who had finally pushed her plate away and was saying she hadn't eaten so well in ages.
"Andraste," he said, causing every professor to look at him, "now that all of us are here, I was thinking the students might enjoy a demonstration of your abilities. It does seem the least they have earned for waking up so early."
"I would be delighted Albus." Andraste, however, knew full well this was not just for the benefit of the students. The faculty was obviously very curious to know exactly what the American was capable of..
Severus pushed away his plate, and listened as the headmaster stood to address the school. "Can I have your attention please?" The excited chatter quickly died down, and every student gave Dumbledore their full attention. "I would like you to all welcome Miss Andraste to our school; she will be assisting Professor Snape in your potions classes." She stood up, revealing an outfit that would have been perfectly acceptable in the muggle world. Severus examined her carefully while the students applauded. She was wearing a black dress that stopped just above the knees and a full length emerald green tailored cloak. All in all she looked more like she was going out in muggle London than preparing to help teach a potions class, he though with a sneer.
"Thank you very much. This is my first time in England, my first time out of the United States in fact, and I am very excited to be here." She paused for a just a moment, gathering her thoughts. "Since my abilities are a bit... different, your headmaster has asked that I give you a demonstration, so I have decided to challenge my new mentor to a friendly duel." Saying this she turned around and faced Severus. "Would you mind terribly Professor Snape?" he nodded acceptance with an evil grin and small gasps were heard across the Great Hall. Everyone had naturally assumed she meant Dumbledore, and it was obvious that the potions teacher was in even worse spirits than usual.
Ron leaned over quickly to Harry and Hermione. "Is she crazy? The old gits going to shred her, and love every minute of it."
"Mr. Weasley," Andraste continued. Rons face turned as red as his hair as he whimpered "How does she know my name?" to his best friends. "Yes, Ma'am?" he responded, trying his best to disguise the fear he was feeling.
"Maybe since you seem so intent on adding to this, you could assist me with something. Namely, answering the question you just asked. For those of you that didn't hear, Ron wants to know how I knew his name. This first demonstration should answer that question for you all." She returned her focus to Ron. "This is very simple and completely painless. I want you to provide us with somewhere to have our little duel.."
"But ma'am..."
"Don't worry Ron, all you need to do is picture it in your head, and feel free to be as creative as you want. Tell me when you're ready."
"Okay." He tried to say firmly, but it came out as more of a croak.
"Very well," Andraste said, then waved her hand. A meager stage appeared across the expanse of the Great Hall. "Ron," Andraste said, ignoring the murmurs that had arisen from both the faculty and students. "I'm sure you can do better than that." Ron nodded to her, recognizing what may be a once in a lifetime opportunity and closed his eyes. Picturing the grandest dueling stage he could muster, he opened his eyes again and told Professor Andraste he was ready.
"Excellent." She waved her hand again and Ron watched wide-eyed as the stage that was there transformed into exactly what he had been imagining. It was 15 meters long, 2 meters wide, and 2 meters high. The scarlet fabric surrounding it was trimmed in gold and animate lion statues graced opposite corners. Occupying the other corners was an eagle and a badger, the animals of Ravelclaw and Hufflepuff. Neither the Slytherins nor Professor Snape missed the obvious absence of a snake on the dueling stage. Three of the four houses broke out in loud applause, and even the Slytherins looked begrudgingly impressed.
"Thank you very much Ron, you can be seated." Andraste turned to address the student body again. "As you may have gathered from what you've just seen, I can see into people's minds. This doesn't mean I can intrude into somebody's subconscious; only that I can see their surface thoughts. In this case, his name and the dueling stage that he imagined. While I don't usually go poking around in people's heads, very few have the ability to shut me out completely. And you, Professor Snape," she said turning her attention towards the potions teacher, "are unfortunately not one of them."
Remus Lupin watched the fury build in Severus' eyes, quietly praying that his new friend knew what she was dong. It had been a long time since he had seen Snape this angry. When he spoke, his voice was as icy as it had ever been. "If you are quite done with your parlor tricks Miss Andraste, I believe you need to be taught a lesson in respect." Andraste had angered him beyond belief, and all of the faculty could feel the tingle of his magic as it swirled around him. Dumbledore broke the silence that had blanketed the Great Hall, knowing full well why Andraste and Snape had immediately taken such a dislike to the other. Remus was right. This was going to be interesting.
"If the professors will please take their places, we will begin." Everyone watched with rapt attention as Snape and Andraste climbed the stairs in the middle of the stage. Facing each other, Snape raised his wand and they both bowed. They turned away, each walked 10 paces in opposite directions and turned back, facing each other again. Dumbledore gave a three count. Everyone looked on as a soft blue glow enveloped Andraste, at the same time Professor Snape pointed his wand and shouted "STUPIFY!" A red bolt seared from his wand towards her, growing in intensity with every passing moment. Severus watched with a triumphant smile as the spell made contact with his opponent... and passed harmlessly through her? Loud cheering broke out through the Great Hall as the glow around Andraste changed from blue to green. The noise quieted as the unpopular potions master threw another curse at everyone's new favorite professor; only to have it hit her, rebound, and fly back at his chest; leaving him laying unconscious on the ground. Andraste walked towards the figure sprawled out on the floor and started to explain to the stunned crowd around her.
"Since I gained my powers around age 10, I've been completely impervious to magical attack by others. I have a choice between having spells rebound to the attacker, as you've just seen, or pass straight through me. If I don't have a shield up my body will just naturally absorb the energy. Tickles a bit though," she added with a smile. She reached down, pulling Professor Snape back to consciousness and to his feet with one swift motion. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I have some apologizing to do." With that the stage disappeared out from under them, and they walked back towards the table.
Uncharacteristically, the Slytherins were the first to start applauding, earning them a venomous glare from their head of house. Soon the entire hall was filled with cheers from the students and faculty alike.
Dumbledore sat back smiling to himself. She was even more powerful than he and Jeremy had speculated. His head filled with delightful visions. Visions of a young man that may not have to bear the burden of saving the world alone anymore.