Harry Potter and the Kingdom of Shadows

by QuicksilveRy-Lullaby

Sixth year begins at Hogwarts for Harry & his friends, all still trying to come to grips with the events of only a few months before. It brings all the usual things, but with a slight twist... PG13 for now, will rise later. (I know, bad summary :p )

5. Chapter 4: Castles and Dreams

Chapter 4: Castles and Dreams

And the rains came down

And the stars fell from the sky

Oh, how dark the night...

It always seems those castles and dreams

Fade with the morning light...

A young woman moves briskly through the shadows, her demeanour showing both determination and wariness. The forest around her is quiet, unnaturally quiet.

She halts.

Soft footfalls and the near silent rustling of cloth, close behind; too close, and too many.

Panic.

White masks, glowing eerily in the streaming shafts of moonlight, floating on absent bodies cloaked in shadows

A chance.

Running away, moving so fast the trees appear as only a blur of green and brown and shadowy blackness.

Blood.

The grass becomes a pervading sea of sticky red carnage.

Eyes of silver, eyes of black.

A mocking, taunting, and haunting surveillance, supplement to the harsh, cold laughter.

A bright green flash.

An excruciating scream of unimaginable agony echoes in the sudden stillness as everything fades to black.

A soft whimper breaks the near silence as a terrified teenager wakes with a jolt and gasping for breath in the early morning hours, surrounded by darkness, the enclosed shadows of a scarlet curtained bed, situated in a tower dorm, unlit in the pre-dawn hours.

Remembering the dream with startling clarity, a set of wide, horror-struck green eyes flash quickly to scan the adjoining beds in the circular tower, making sure none of the other students heard a disturbance. The other adolescents continue to sleep peacefully, unaware of the movement among them.

With a quick sigh of relief, the troubled teen rises and walks across the room to the window. Waiting, still as a statue, staring out at the view of the sun beginning to rise, shining over the silent, dewy grounds, the preoccupied youth gives another quiet sigh lightly rubs at the faintly throbbing scar, the mark of an old wound earned in confrontation. Turning away from the window, the tense figure quickly slips into some clothes and silently sneaks out of the dorm.

Fresh from the showers, Glory walks towards the end of the Gryffindor table where Neville and Cassie sit chatting with most of the same crowd from the feast the night before, and now next to the new first years as well. She hears Lavender talking softly as she walks up behind her unnoticed.

"What kind of name is 'Glory' anyway?" Parvati nods in agreement as Glory steps up behind them, holding a finger to her lips to signal Dean and Seamus to keep silent. "It's so odd!" She leans down slightly to bring her head between that of the two gossiping girls.

"It's a family tradition," she deadpans, watching the embarrassment rise in the two girls as they jump nearly out of their chairs. Stepping back, Glory continues a bit further down the table to a seat left open next to Neville.

"And what tradition would that be exactly?" Seamus asks through his laughter. Next to him, Hermione waves over at Harry, who has just appeared in the doorway to enter the hall.

"Florae Generalis."

"Meaning?" Parvati asks, looking confused, and Glory pauses for a moment to grin at Harry before sitting down. Neville speaks up first and when he does, no one looks surprised that he was able to explain it.

"Plants," he offers sagely. "It means plants, flowers, vegetation and the like."

"But how does that name fit…?" Hermione starts to wonder, and Glory shakes her head with a smile.

Across the table and down a bit, sitting next to the first year boy who waved back to Glory last night, Cassie waves and interrupts.

"Morning Glory!" she winks and giggles at the face Glory makes at her. After a moment of silence the rest of the nearby students begin to snicker as they figure it out.

"Whose idea was that?" Ginny chokes out past her giggling. Glory sighs exaggeratedly.

"It was what my parents finally agreed on after a great many arguments."

"Oh? About what?" Cassie sounds a bit concerned asking but Glory quickly gives her a reassuring smile.

"Tradition," Glory drawls slowly, rolling her eyes just a little. "Neither one really wanted to name me after their own family tradition, but they didn't just want to abandon that part of the firstborn naming customs they'd always known, so they each continued to suggest names that would fit the other ones tradition." She is being purposely vague about her explanation, not wanting to give too much about herself and her family away to these virtual strangers just yet, so seeing the questioning looks she is receiving from the others she continues before anyone can interrupt. "Finally, a good friend stepped in and jokingly suggested that they should just give up and flip a coin for who got to name the baby, and eventually that's just what they did." She laughs at the stunned expressions that the others wear as they realise what she's just told them.

"That's not quite the way I heard it," Harry injects sneakily with an amused smirk as he sit down next to Glory. She turns to him with raised eyebrows, the other students soon following suit.

"Oh yeah? Do tell."

"Well, the way I heard it, they finally agreed to forgo the traditional route and it was agreed that your father would choose the name since he won the coin toss." Harry's tone gets cheekier as he continues his story. "He picked the way he did not only because it was a sneaky way to get that traditional name in the end, but because he thought it would be cute!" Glory snorts quietly and Neville bites his lip to keep from laughing.

"Who would have thought, my father and cute in the same sentence," she mutters under her breath, knowing that both Harry and Neville can hear her. Then louder, "Gee, I wonder who could have told you that story?" She drawls sarcastically. Neville covers his laughter with a bout of fake coughing when Glory elbows him in the ribs. Harry ignores the comment and continues.

"Then, of course, when your mum realised what he'd done," Harry grins at her in a humorously sinister way. "She decided to get revenge by giving you a middle name that fit with his own family tradition, not sneakily as his choice was, but much more blatant." Neville freezes suddenly as Glory's jaw drops.

"Wait, you know her middle name?" Neville asks looking staggered.

"He told you my middle name!?!" Glory cries out in astonishment and Neville rests his head on the table and holds his stomach as he begins to laugh hard. "He never told me about that part!" Glory, blushing intensely, turns to glare at the still laughing Neville and as he looks up, he brings his hands up in a gesture of innocence. Staring down at the table in front of her, Glory shakes her head and she begins to form a plot, muttering to herself about payback.

"Well, when did you last talk to him?" Cassie asks suddenly, trying to distract her from her strange designs of settling the score. "Maybe he just hasn't had the chance to tell you."

"He was at the house a couple of weeks ago for a few days," Glory answers slowly as she thinks about it. Harry tilts his head to the side a bit, watching her.

"Everything ok?" he asks her, suddenly sounding a bit apprehensive. She stares at him for a moment in silence.

"Oh, yeah, it was nothing like that," she reassures gently and smiles. "He came up for the anniversary party and stayed with us 'young 'uns' for the weekend while Jess and Eric went away for some alone time." The way she says it makes the boys all blush, and the girls, with the possible exception of Hermione who looks a tiny bit scandalized, burst into giggles squealing about how romantic it must have been.

"And he didn't say anything about it then?" Neville draws Glory back on to the original topic as Parvati and Lavender press her for more information about the anniversary.

"He didn't say a word about it," she grumbles lightly, staring up at the ceiling and shaking her head.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Harry mutters, and Neville begins laughing anew. Glory looks between them with narrowed eyes, ignoring the odd looks she receives from the others.

"She's not a big fan of the revenge name," Neville tells them simply and Harry begins to laugh as well. Around them the other students watch with confused expressions, feeling left out of the loop of some secret joke the three of them share.

"It's not like that," Glory defends quickly. "I've got nothing against the actual name really, it's just the whole reasoning behind it that bothers me and that's why I don't like people knowing about it."

'That and it's a bit too revealing of ancestry I'd rather not think about at this point in my life,' she thinks to herself.

"So essentially, someone's going to be in big trouble!" Neville comments with an innocent grin. Glory looks at him out of the corner of her eye for a moment and grins wickedly.

"So, uh, what was your father's family tradition then?" Lavender asks hesitantly and Glory shakes her head, refusing to answer. Hermione takes the opportunity to get her thoughts into the discussion.

"Would this 'doomed' person you're talking about happen to be the same friend who reintroduced you and Harry?" Hermione asks slyly, not forgetting the conversation from last night. Glory looks up at her appraisingly and nods. Hermione notices and presses on. "So are you ready to tell us now who it is? You said you would today." Glory looks up at the ceiling.

"Will the post be arriving soon?" she wonders aloud calculatingly, not to anyone in particular. Hermione begins to fume at yet another evasion, and glares daggers at Glory.

"Any minute now, why?" Neville answers her quickly, keeping a wary watch on Hermione.

"Well," Glory directs her gaze back down to meet Hermione's flaring eyes with an amused smile. "If you can contain your curiosity until after the post is delivered, I'll answer whatever questions may arise as best I can."

"Ry?" Harry draws her name out slowly, sounding more than a little suspicious.

"Harry?" she says his name just as slowly, trying her best to keep a straight face.

"What did you do?" he asks her seriously, studying her closely. Across the table, Cassie begins to giggle uncontrollably.

Neville looks at her questioningly, but she shakes her head, mouthing to him 'you'll see'. Concluding this must have something to do with yesterday's train ride, Neville turns back to hear Glory's answer.

"Nothing!" her face is a perfect mask of innocence, her voice pitched to match, as it was the previous night during the act that she used on Professor McGonagall. A little too perfect for the students to take seriously it seems, as everyone levels her with sceptical looks.

Harry looks ready to make another comment when the sound of many sets of flapping wings distracts him. Everyone looks up as the post arrives, wanting to know what was so important to make the explanation wait. Glory rolls her eyes and runs a hand through her still damp hair before scanning the ceiling again.

The number of owls above lessens as each finds the person their delivery is meant for. Soon, a lone snowy owl is the only one to still circle the hall, clutching a red envelope in its claws.

"Harry," Ron points up to the owl, asking what the others are thinking. "Why is Hedwig up there with a Howler? What did you do?"

Harry snickers quietly and strokes the soft feathers of the owl currently resting on his shoulder.

"That's not Hedwig," he answers simply as the snowy owl in the air screeches loudly. The others turn to look at him quickly, stunned to see his own owl hop down to the table and steal a piece of bacon off of his plate. "That would be Galahad." Neville groans quietly in recognition and Cassie nods at him, giggling.

Glory laughs suddenly, whistling sharply three times in quick succession as she continues to look towards the ceiling. Sweeping once more around the hall, Galahad drops suddenly, diving close to Glory's head, chattering away at her in owl. Glory smiles and answers back in kind, much to the amazement of most of her housemates. She laughs.

"I told you I was good with languages."

With a soft hoot, Galahad lands on Glory's shoulder. She giggles and shivers slightly as he nips lightly at her ear before releasing the bright red envelope which has started to smoke a bit at the corners.

"You might want to hurry with that," Neville says with obvious concern. The students around them and even those at the other tables have begun to notice the smoke now and are whispering about a Howler in their midst.

"Best cover your ears then," Glory warns as she uses her knife to slit the envelope open. There is a rush of hands being clapped over ears as the roar of a voice magnified explodes through the hall.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE? WHAT YOU'VE GOTTEN YOURSELF INTO? THIS IS, BY FAR, THE MOST RECKLESS AND DANGEROUS THING YOU'VE EVER DONE, AND WE BOTH KNOW THAT'S SAYING A LOT. HOW COULD YOU BE SO CARELESS?"

The rafters above them tremble slightly as the loud sound echoes through the hall.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOUR MOTHER AGREED TO THIS! CAN YOU EVEN BEGIN TO GRASP THE DANGER YOU'VE PUT, NOT ONLY YOURSELF, BUT YOUR FAMILY, YOUR FRIENDS, EVERYONE IN? YOU'VE MADE A VERY SELFISH AND FOOLISH MOVE GLORY AND IF I'D KNOWN THIS IS WHAT YOU HAD PLANNED I WOULD HAVE STOPPED IT LONG AGO. WHAT WOULD YOUR FATHER THINK?"

The outrage in the voice drops slightly but noticeably into a very forced sounding calm. If anything, the anger has now given way to disappointment, which makes it just that much worse.

"HERE'S HOW THIS WILL WORK. YOU WILL CONTINUE AS YOU ARE: YOU WILL CONCENTRATE ON YOUR STUDIES; YOU WILL NOT CAUSE TROUBLE! YOU WILL BE EVERYTHING EXPECTED OF ONE OF YOUR STANDING TO UPHOLD YOUR FAMILY HONOUR."

There are many around the hall paying very close attention to every word said as Glory buries her face in her hands.

"I WILL BE KEEPING AN EAR OUT ABOUT YOU, I GUARANTEE THAT, AND I SWEAR TO YOU GLORY, IF I SO MUCH AS HEAR EVEN THE SLIGHTEST HINT OF YOU TRYING TO PULL ANYTHING LIKE YOU DID AT YOUR OTHER SCHOOLS, I WILL BE THERE TO DRAG YOU HOME SO FAST YOU WON'T EVEN HAVE THE TIME TO MAKE UP AN EXCUSE."

Harry and Neville exchange worried looks as many of the students around them begin to look a little pale.

"YOU WILL NOT SUBJECT THE HOGWARTS STAFF TO THE SAME BEHAVIOUR AS THE OTHERS, ARE WE CLEAR? I WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY OF THEM SUFFERING THE SAME FATE AS PROFESSOR AIGUILLES."

Glory begins to shake slightly, as now the professors even begin to watch her suspiciously and exchange worried looks.

"I WILL HEAR FROM YOU SOON, GLORY, OR I WILL COME TO CHECK ON YOU MYSELF. BE GOOD, BE CAREFUL AND REMEMBER MY WARNING!"

The hall rings with the silence as the envelope bursts into flames. Soon a small pile of ashes are all that remain of the Howler.

The shocked silence around the hall begins to break up gradually as everyone tries to take in all that was said. Quiet murmuring at first, then a bit louder, and soon the tables begin to buzz with low conversations, talking about what the Howler said, what it could mean, and a few of the students even being to joke about their own embarrassing experiences with getting them. It doesn't take long for most of the hall to go back and pick up their earlier conversations where they left off.

The small group of Gryffindors at ground zero remains unusually quiet as they all try to come to grips with what just happened around them. Hermione is the first to recover her voice.

"Was that...?" Hermione appears quite pale as she stares at Glory, who now has her head buried in her arms and resting on the table. Her shoulders shake silently as the others continue to stare in disbelief.

"It couldn't have been…" Ginny murmurs softly, turning her attention to Harry who, quite shockingly, looks almost as shaken up as the rest of them over the voice many of the Gryffindors seem to recognise, even if it doesn't sound the way they were used to hearing it. They aren't the only ones either. A quick glance around the hall would show at least a few students at every table as well as most of the staff exchanging stunned looks and whispered words as they think about whom and what they just heard.

"Professor Lupin," Neville says confidently, looking a little ashen at the thought. Turning his attention to the still shaking Glory, Neville wraps an arm around her comfortingly. "Are you ok?" She turns to him quickly, burying her face in his shoulder as she howls. Eyes go wide and jaws drop all around them as they realise she is laughing.

"How can you possibly be laughing about that?" Ron's incredulous tone doesn't snap Glory out of her laughter completely, but it does draw her attention back to them enough for her to stammer out an answer.

"I never thought he had it in him!" Neville shakes his head and Harry gives her an exasperated look.

"You didn't tell him you were coming here, did you Ry?" Neville asks quietly. He appears not the slightest bit surprised about recognising who the voice belonged to, but he sounds concerned. She looks up at him then turns to study the others quickly.

"Not exactly," she replies slowly, no longer laughing. "I knew he'd try to stop me from coming if I did, so I put it off as long as I could."

"That's where Galahad was going yesterday morning." Harry nods as he speaks, knowing that he is right. "Back to the platform to let Professor Lupin know you were on your way here already."

"Well, then it's no wonder he sent you a Howler!" Ron comments bluntly.

"But Professor Lupin never seemed like the Howler type," Ginny adds softly. There are many nods of agreement as the Gryffindors recall their easy-going ex-professor. It doesn't take them long to start wondering what it is about Glory that worries him so much that it would provoke him to such an act

"It's not what it seems," Glory assures them all quickly. "Really, it's not. He's likely more concerned than angry. He worries about me too much." She sighs as she notes the sceptical looks of those around her.

"It sounded more like he was worried about the rest of us actually," Hermione interjects coolly. Glory levels her with an unaffected look.

"I have known the man my entire life," she explains in an equally cool voice. "He was a friend of my family long before I was even a thought in anyone's head. He was overreacting. He knows I'm no more danger to any of you than I am to him."

"Tell that to Malfoy," Ron mutters under his breath, earning him an elbow in the ribs from his sister. Glory watches him for a moment in silence before commenting.

"That was special circumstances," she looks down at the table in front of her. "I didn't really want that to happen, but he didn't leave me much choice. Remus would understand about that."

"But what's to say the same wouldn't happen with any of us?" Ginny asks, not looking scared or upset, merely studying Glory, who meets her eyes fearlessly. It's clear that Ginny wants to trust her, but needs some extra reassurance, which Glory happily obliges.

"Because you," she looks at each of the other students as she speaks. "All of you, together, are like a little family here, and I know how important that is. I assure you I have no intention of hurting either of my 'brothers'," she waves her hand to signal the young men on either side of her. "In any way. That includes endangering their friends. Friends I hope that one day I may be able to count amongst my own."

"And of course, if you really are as close as you say to this Remus guy, he would know all of this, right?" Cassie asks Glory, who nods. "And it would be a bit pointless to lie about something like this because it could be confirmed easily enough by anyone here?" There is another nod from Glory and sounds of agreement from a few of the others. "And aside from having a bit of a short temper about certain topics," Cassie barely manages to keep a straight face as a couple of the others mutter comments under their breath. "You seem nice enough, and surely if you were truly a danger to any of us you wouldn't have been allowed to enter the school at all. The headmaster wouldn't have allowed it, would he?"

The older students look sceptical about this comment as they think back over some of the more memorable incidents that have happened at Hogwarts over the past few years. Cassie looks momentarily worried but Glory laughs softly and shakes her head.

"It was all just an overreaction from a concerned friend who wanted to make sure I will be on my best behaviour. I'm telling you, I'm not some sort of menace!"

"What about that stuff he said about putting everyone in danger then?" Parvati insists. Glory pushes her plate away from her, no longer feeling hungry.

"How many times has Hogwarts made the news for something bad happening here in the past few years?" Glory answers back seriously, shaking her head as she does. "Naturally, with all of the negative focus on this place by various sources out there, he is worried that by coming to the proverbial ground zero, I may be unwittingly setting myself up to be a target, for any number of reasons, drawing unnecessary attention to my family and friends, and therefore maybe putting them at risk. But by no means was he suggesting that I was a danger to anyone," she pauses for a moment to let her latest bit of information sink in.

"Then what was that comment about the staff? Something about not subjecting them to the same sort of behaviour as you did the others?" Glory bites her lip to keep from laughing as Hermione continues to study her with narrowed eyes. It takes a few moments before she is calm enough to be able to comment.

"I've had a few, incidents, with some professors in my travels," she chooses her words carefully, not wanting to make things sound worse than they were. "Nothing special or dangerous at all about it really, just a few differences of opinion and the like."

"What about that one he mentioned? Ragules? What happened to him?" Ron asks around a mouthful of eggs. He doesn't, or chooses not to, notice the disgusted looks sent his way. Glory rolls her eyes.

"Her name was Aiguilles and, well…erm," she hesitates, chewing on her bottom lip lightly. "It's a little complicated actually."

Thinking it sounds like it could be an interesting story, the other Gryffindors wait for her to elaborate. Glory shifts around in her seat a little, starting to look embarrassed.

"Now this wouldn't be anything like what happened to Nanny Braithwaite, would it?" Neville speaks up, turning to Glory with an innocent grin.

"Oh, you remember her, do you?" she stares back at him with raised eyebrows and the hint of a smile. He shoots her a look of disbelief.

"It would have been a bit hard to forget what you did to her," he taunts comically. He dodges a bit as Glory aims a light smack towards his shoulder.

"Excuse me? What I did to her?" Her tone is incredulous. She looks away from Neville for a moment and up to the cloudless blue of the sky-reflecting ceiling, shaking her head. She quickly turns back to confront him. "I seem to recall you being the one who told her I was in the Cave!"

"You were in the Cave, even though you knew it was forbidden!"

"A fact that you didn't seem to mind when you were hiding in there with me to avoid bath time," Glory scoffs lightly.

Across the table, Ginny catches Harry attention, silently mouthing her question. 'Do you have any idea what they're talking about?" He shakes his head in response, dumbfounded as the rest of the group, and quickly turns his attention back to the arguing pair.

"That was a different thing entirely, Ry." Neville blushes a bit as he fights back, defending himself. "That was in broad daylight, not the middle of the night!"

"Middle of the night?" Glory laughs sardonically. "It was only nine o'clock!" Her eyes show that she is only playing around with him and inside is actually proud and even cheering Neville on as he stands up to her, giving as good as he gets.

"When you're four years old, nine o'clock is the middle of the night!" Everyone around them is watching in silence as Neville and Glory stare each other down. After a few moments Neville chuckles quietly and makes a suggestion.

"All right, how about this, we're both partially at fault, ok? You shouldn't have been in the Cave and I shouldn't have sent her after you." Glory gives him a wide smile and they shake on the agreement to seal the deal.

"Of course, she was mostly to blame for it all really." Neville amends thoughtfully. "I mean, how were we supposed to know she was afraid of the dark?" Glory shrugs, holding up one of her hands.

"And that deathly claustrophobic," she adds shrewdly. Neville acknowledges the comment with a nod.

"Or that she would turn out to be allergic to wolf fur," he fights to keep his face straight as the other Gryffindors stare between the two with shocked expressions.

"Or that the silly twit would get herself stuck like that," Glory giggles and Neville finally gives up and stops fighting the grin that soon spreads over his face.

"Good lord, what did you do to that poor woman?" Hermione demands concernedly. Both Neville and Glory snort loudly at the description.

"Poor woman?" Glory repeats disdainfully. "Oh no, that horrid old vulture got exactly what she had coming to her." Parvati and Lavender once again start looking at her suspiciously, like maybe she really is dangerous. Dean and Seamus exchange interested looks and lean in a little closer to make sure they don't miss a word. Harry shoots Ginny a look at the beginning of yet another clash and pretends to bang his head on the table a few times, making her giggle. Hermione continues to doubt, watching Glory suspiciously.

"She couldn't have been as bad as that, surely?" she says in a superior tone, almost implying that she knows better. Glory sends her back a smile that clearly says she will enjoy knocking this know it all down a few pegs.

"Well, on her very 'good days'," the words drip with sarcasm as Glory adds finger quotes, to make her meaning as clear as possible for everyone. "Nanny Braithwaite could make your Professor Snape, as I've head many stories about him over the years from various sources," she notes the very interested looks on a few of the faces, especially Harry's, and laughs, shaking her head and pointing at him. "Who, of course, will remain nameless for precautionary reasons," her eyes flicker the slightest bit towards the High Table before quickly snapping back to the now pouting young man. "Well, she could make him appear to be quite pleasant and approachable."

Neville begins to laugh at the varied reactions of disbelief and shock on all of the older students faces. The nearby first years begin to exchange wary looks as they listen to muttered comments about how bad the professor is.

"There's no way!" Ron shakes his head, refusing to believe it.

"Neville can tell you if you won't believe it from me." Neville nods in confirmation as they all look to him.

"She once told me that I was a squib and should have been drowned at birth," his voice is barely above a whisper, his eyes looking momentarily haunted. He blinks suddenly, looking embarrassed as he notices the horrified and outraged looks on the faces of his friends. Glory wraps her arms around him.

"You never told me about that," she whispers sadly, holding him even tighter. "When did she say it?"

"Why do you think I was hiding in the Cave that day?" He whispers back softly. They sit like that in silence for a few moments as around them their friends mutter curses and threats against the old witch.

'Foul and wretched creature, may you get what you deserve in life,' Glory thinks as Neville pulls away, looking mightily self-conscious. Glory smiles at him with a hint of cheekiness. "Ah, dearest Neville, you blush almost as easily as Harry does." She leans in to kiss him on the cheek and whispers something in his ear so none of the others can hear her. The shade Neville's face turns could easily rival that of Ginny's on the train the day before.

"Great Merlin's ghost, you'd think he was a Weasley!" Seamus teases lightly, easing the tension of the group greatly as they all have to laugh at the comment, although it does earn him a mild smack from Ginny and a threatening look from Ron.

"What about you, Glory?" Lavender asks quickly, as if trying to get it out before she loses the nerve. "Was she like that with you too?" She ducks her head nervously as she is levelled with many unhappy looks. Glory doesn't seem like she particularly cares though, and nods

"Her taunts for me were much less harsh," Glory holds her voice emotionless as she speaks. "She told me many times that I should never have been born and, well, I was most affectionately known to her by the term 'baseborn trash'." Her eyes take on a distant look as the others begin making sympathetic comments. "That one was her favourite."

"But that doesn't make sense," Parvati interrupts looking a little puzzled. "Why would she say something like that?" Glory isn't really paying too close attention to the question, still wrapped in her thoughts of that horrid old witch.

"Well, my parents weren't married, were they?" she replies distractedly, turning to scan the hall quickly. Everyone else seems to have returned to their regular morning activities.

"But you just told us that they had recently celebrated an anniversary," Hermione exclaims suspiciously, watching Glory for any sort of reaction to having been caught in a lie. Glory turns back to face her, head tilted slightly to the side, but looking at her as if she doesn't really see her.

"That would have been number twelve then," Neville's face scrunches up slightly as he thinks about it. Glory blinks back to the present as Harry kicks her ankle under the table.

"Yeah, that's right," she chuckles quietly. "Twelve years this past August."

"But that means…" Seamus starts slowly and hesitates. Glory smiles at him and finishes the thought she knows they are all thinking.

"Jess and Eric weren't married until after our," she motions to the boys on either side of her as she explains. "Fourth birthdays were past. They were on their honeymoon during the Braithwaite Incident, that's why she was with us."

"So, what exactly happened to Nanny Braithwaite?" Ginny asks shrewdly, shifting the focus of the conversation back to where it started. The tactic doesn't go unnoticed by the curious Gryffindors, who realise that they've talked themselves in a circle.

"Well, she… erm…" Neville stammers nervously, looking to Glory for help.

"She ended up on a nice, long relaxing vacation to a St. Mungo's locked ward." The others stare at her in shock as she sounds more than a little amused at the idea. "Oh, she was released after a couple of years!" She reassures quickly, not failing to notice the covert glances Hermione, Ron and Harry send in Neville's direction. When they finally let her out, she, uh, fled the country actually." She isn't the only one snickering at that comment.

Seamus mutters something under his breath that sounds a lot like 'I'd bloody well hope so!' and earns nods of agreement from many of the others.

"I heard Gran talking about it after, and rumour is she set up camp in the backwoods of America." Neville whispers conspiratorially and Glory laughs and tells him that's good to know. He shakes his head at the expression on her face. "You're supposed to be staying out of trouble," he laughs as she gives him a falsely innocent look.

"What I want to know," Dean interrupts their little side conversation to draw them back into the group. "Why on earth would you have been left with the woman then, if that's the way she was?" Neville sighs and Glory shrugs.

"Well, she never said anything like that around the adults," she explains as if it should be obvious. "She may have felt safe enough to do it to us, but she was far too fearful to ever insult our families to their faces." Glory anticipates what the next question will be and continues her explanation. "And she figured that we wouldn't tell, because how likely is it that they would have believed a couple of kids over a trusted friend and employee?" Harry, Ron and Hermione exchange looks as they recall thinking along those same lines in their first year at Hogwarts.

"She was a friend of my Gran's from a long time ago and just an old pureblood with antiquated beliefs." Neville adds with a shrug and turns to face Glory. "You know, I don't think Gran ever stopped blaming you for what happened that day." Glory rolls her eyes and snorts.

"Ah, well, I think she was determined not to like me from the beginning." She assures him casually. There is a jumble of voices as many of the others try to ask her the same question. They want to know why. "She didn't particularly get along so well with Jess. She didn't agree with some of her 'life choices', my being born out of wedlock was only the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure she only put up with us as long as she did because of Alice."

At this point, any further reactions or questions are put on hold as Professor McGonagall walks by and hands out their timetables. The discussion quickly turns to their new class schedules.

"Well, looks like it's Care of Magical Creatures first and then, alright!" he looks over at Harry excitedly. "We get the rest of the day off!"

"Well, not all of us," Hermione comments nonchalantly as she studies her own timetable.

"What have you got then?" he leans over to grab it from her and gives a disgusted cry. "Potions? Well, no worries then. There's no way Harry would be in that!" He tells her confidently, tossing her timetable back to her. Harry shifts uncomfortably in his seat.

"Well, actually…" he hesitates. Everyone turns to stare at him in shock and Glory starts to laugh at their expressions.

"No way!" Seamus groans loudly.

"You didn't?" Dean asks with a horrified laugh.

"But you didn't get an 'O' in Potions, did you?" Hermione demands, remembering what Professor McGonagall said last year about how strict Professor Snape is about whom he lets into his Advanced Potions class.

"No," Harry grimaces as he answers, knowing by instinct that this will not be an easy year for him. "I think some strings were pulled to get me in anyway though." He notices the looks of pity his friends are giving him and Seamus asks if can have Harry's broom after Snape kills him, making Dean, Harry and Ginny laugh. Glory pats him on the shoulder reassuringly.

"I don't believe you!" Ron cries at Harry, looking outraged at what is going on around him. "You actually want to spend time more time with the gr…" Glory cuts him off with a glare.

"Ronald," she hisses warningly. He looks ready to protest, but Ginny elbows him in the ribs again and he keeps his mouth shut. "It was Harry's choice, deal with it."

"It's not like he's going into it alone," Neville shrugs, trying to reassure Ron. It takes a moment for the others to catch on.

"Neville?" Hermione looks stunned as she stares at him.

"Not you too!" Ron groans.

"I knew you could do it!" Glory cries, throwing her arms around him for another hug that leaves him blushing again.

"Why would you want to?" Seamus comments quietly, thinking back over the previous five years of Potions class with Neville. Ginny smacks him lightly again.

"I'm sure he has his reasons," she tells Seamus and turns back with a smile. "Well done, Neville!"

"Thanks," he blushes even darker and smiles back shyly. "I don't know how I'm going to manage two more years of it though." Glory winks at him.

"No worries, love. I'll be here to make sure you don't get into too much trouble." Neville and Harry exchange worried looks, seeming far from reassured by her comment.

"So what did you end up with in Potions, Harry?" Dean asks, wondering just how far those strings had to be pulled. Harry looks reluctant, but at everyone's persistence he tells them.

"Exceeds Expectations."

Across the table, Ron is muttering under his breath about not knowing how he managed to do it. Glory smirks at him.

"Some people have ambitions, Ronald." He glares at her. Harry rolls his eyes and tells them both to give it a rest.

"What about your schedule, Ginny? What's it like?" Glory asks, shifting the focus a bit. Ginny scans her timetable again.

"Busy!" she laughs and shakes her head. "Of course, that's to be expected, it being O.W.L exams this year for me." The older students tease her a bit, reminiscing about the exams they had to sit through only months before.

Harry, preferring not to think about that time, turns his attention a bit further down the table to where Cassie and the other first years are looking at their own timetables.

"Everything all right with you lot?" His smile begins to fade as the younger students, with the exception of Cassie, just stare at him nervously with wide eyes. Cassie rolls her eyes.

"Oh come on you guys," she laughs at her classmates and tells them not to be silly. "Harry's not at all scary, are you Harry?" she winks at him and points to Glory, speaking to the other first years conspiratorially. "Now she's the one you have to watch out for." Everyone laughs as Glory grumbles.

"I heard that!"

"Heard what?" Harry asks innocently, turning to Cassie with a surprised look. "I didn't hear anything, did you?"

"Not a thing," she responds, schooling her face into an equally innocent mask. She turns to the boy sitting beside her. "What about you Caoimhín?" He shakes his head, laughing and turns to ask the boy named Hayden on his other side. Soon all of the new Gryffindors have played along with the joke.

"Sorry Glory," Cassie grins at her cheekily as everyone continues to laugh. "But it looks like you're hearing things!"

"I'll 'hearing things' you!" Glory mutters as she begins to rise threateningly. Cassie is out of her seat and halfway to the door, calling back something about not wanting to be late for class, before Glory even makes it out of her own seat. Laughing, Glory checks her watch and looks at the rest of the group. "I think the brat may have had a point with that last comment. We should all be getting to class."

The group prepares to leave, the first years feeling bold enough now to ask the older students for directions on how to find their classrooms. In next to no time the group has said their goodbyes and headed off in different directions to their first lessons of the year.

All of the Gryffindor sixth years, minus Parvati and Lavender, head down the sloping lawn towards Hagrid's cabin near the edge of the Forbidden Forest for their Care of Magical Creatures lesson. Ron and Hermione drag Harry ahead of the rest of the group, leaving Glory alone with the other boys.

"So where did you disappear to this morning?" the other group can faintly hear Ron ask Harry before they walk out of earshot. Seamus cracks a joke about Harry sneaking off to meet someone that keeps their own small group laughing as they draw closer and see Hagrid coming from around the back of the hut. He waves to them as he waits by his front steps, where his massive black boarhound, Fang, is stretched out sleeping in the sunlight.

"Mornin'!" Hagrid calls as they reach him. "Got a special treat fer yeh today! It's waitin' 'round the back." The Gryffindors glance at each other a bit nervously as they recall some of Hagrid's other 'special treats' they've been introduced to over the years.

The students from other houses soon make their way over, a small number of Ravenclaws and a few more Hufflepuffs, and just as Hagrid prepares to lead them around the hut to see their lesson for the day, Draco Malfoy shows up, followed closely by a couple of other Slytherins. Surprisingly, neither Crabbe nor Goyle is with him.

The Gryffindors begin to grumble about this newest addition to the class, and even Hagrid looks a bit startled by it, but Draco pointedly keeps his silence after a quick glance at Glory that nobody else notices.

"All righ' you lot, 'round the back we go," Hagrid leads them away from his front door and around the side of the hut, past the garden to a rather large cage set up around the back near the tree line.

Inside the cage they see a single shape, one very odd in appearance. At first glance it appears to be a serpent, partially coiled up on the ground like a snake, but a closer inspection reveals that it is covered with feathers instead of scales, as well as having wings.

"Now, who can tell me wha' this is?" Hagrid asks, ushering them all closer to the edge of the cage. Hermione's hand is in the air almost instantly, waving around as she bounces on the balls of her feet. Glory looks at her, startled, but the rest of the class ignores the actions they've grown used to over the years. Hagrid nods for Hermione to go ahead.

"That is an occamy," Hermione provides expertly. "A highly aggressive creature most commonly found in the Far East."

"Tha's righ'," Hagrid smiles approvingly at her and awards her five points. "An' who knows what it eats?" Again Hermione's hand shoots into the air, but Hagrid shakes his head telling her he wants to give the other students a chance to answer. To the amusement of her friends, Hermione looks disappointed, but lowers her hand.

"Anyone?" Hagrid prompts again, but the rest of the class just looks around at each other muttering, completely clueless. From near the back of the group, Glory speaks up confidently.

"It generally feeds on rats and birds, but has been known to carry off the occasional monkey as well, if it is hungry enough and given the right opportunity." Hagrid is about to award another five points to Gryffindor but stops and appears as surprised as the rest of the students who shoot looks in Glory's direction as she continues to talk. "And they may not actually be as aggressive as we are lead to believe, since most stories leading to that assumption have come from people who were trying to steal the occamy's eggs when they were attacked."

Hagrid appears to approve of this last comment in defence of a 'so-called dangerous creature', as he puts it and awards her an extra five points for Gryffindor on top of the five he was going to award her for the first answer.

One of the Ravenclaw girls, Lisa Turpin, turns away from studying the creature, which has climbed to its feet and started pacing the cage, to ask Hagrid a question.

"So is the occamy a bird or a serpent then?" Even Hermione, for once, looks stumped for the answer.

"That's a good question," Hagrid answers, looking pleased that the students appear to be taking an interest in his lesson so far. "S'far as anyone can tell, it's both," he reveals to them.

The entire class, even the Slytherins, perks up at this strange bit of information and start to press their professor for more facts about this peculiar creature, much to his delight. He is only too happy to answer.

Inside the cage, the occamy begins to fly around, perhaps looking for a way out, the tail end of its long body trailing lightly on the ground. It begins calling out in its unique way, a sound something like a combination of the trilling of bird and the hiss of a snake.

Harry gasps quietly from his spot next to Hermione and Ron, drawing the attention of the nearby students and Hagrid in his direction, checking to see what is going on with him.

Behind the crowd, Glory tilts her head slightly to the side as she listens to the occamy's cries. She walks towards the enclosure slowly, almost as if in a trance, and kneels next to the cage.

"Harry?" she calls softly to him, catching the attention of the others as well. He breaks away from the crowd and joins her at the fence, ignoring Hagrid's call for them to not get too close.

"Can you…?" Harry studies her closely. Behind them, the students begin to whisper quietly.

"Sort of," Glory answers him, quietly. "But only…" Glory breathes in deeply, closing her eyes in thought as Hagrid asks Harry what is going on. He receives no answer. Hermione gasps suddenly, remembering something that happened during breakfast that morning.

"She can understand what it's saying!" she tells Hagrid. Glory turns to her with a frown as the whispers turn to full-blown gossip.

"Not quiet," she answers back coolly, with a slight roll of her eyes. "We were just told that the occamy is part both bird and serpent, so logically to even begin to understand one, a person would have to not only understand their specific dialect of bird, but also be a parselmouth." The class, including Hagrid, has gone silent at what they are hearing, wondering if she is implying what it seems she is.

"Now, I can manage well enough with the bird portion, which sounds similar enough to what I know to get a pretty good idea," Glory continues, directing her comment at Hermione and virtually ignoring the rest of the class. "But I am no parselmouth."

Hermione flushes at Glory's accusing glare. Noticing the tension, Hagrid decides that perhaps this lesson has gone on long enough for one day and dismisses the class. He asks Harry and his friends to remain behind for a bit, but Hermione has to get ready for her Arithmancy class. Glory also begs off the visit.

"Maybe another time? Divination starts soon," she checks her watch, frowning slightly. "I'm really sorry for the disturbance I caused during class today."

"Nothin' ter worry 'bout, Glory," Hagrid laughs boisterously. "Firs' class o' the year always has ter have somethin' happen ter make it interestin'." Glory laughs with him and promises to come visit him soon. With a quick wave goodbye, Glory jogs back to the school for her first divination lesson with Professors Trelawney and Firenze.

After an uneventful Divination class, Glory makes her way through the halls and down to the Great Hall for lunch. As she reaches the doors she sees Cassie just up ahead. She looks upset, her shoulders sagging and her head drooped down staring at the floor as she shuffles along towards the end of the table where the others are already waiting.

"What's wrong Cass?" Glory asks gently, putting an arm around her shoulders and giving her a one armed hug.

"Got detention," Cassie answers quietly, looking up at Glory abashed.

Glory stops walking suddenly, her lips quirking up in a smile as Cassie keeps walking past her for a few steps.

When she realises she's lost her, Cassie turns back, blushing brightly and Glory catches up quickly, dragging her down into the open space next to Harry and Neville. Waving the others off urgently, she studies Cassie for a moment silently before commenting.

"You…" Glory grins, fighting back a laugh. She tries again. "How did you manage to get yourself a detention on your first day?" The regular crowd stops talking immediately and turns to look, some giggling or smirking. Hermione looks scandalised.

"It wasn't my fault," Cassie denies, turning in her seat to look across the hall. "It was those two!" She points to the Slytherin table where Mira and Demetrius sit, smirking and laughing. They wave and wink as they notice the new attention.

"What happened?" Ginny asks gently, stifling her own giggles.

"Well, we were in Potions class," Cassie starts hesitantly and breaks off when the snickering of the others turns into full blown laughter as they Gryffindors make a pretty good guess what must have happened.

Cassie glances around quickly and continues at Glory's urging. "And Professor Snape was giving this amazing speech about 'the subtle science and exact art of potion making'." Glory perks up, her eyes twinkling at this statement. "And teaching us about…" Cassie hesitates as she tries to remember the proper wording that he used. "Bewitching the mind…" she halts again, shaking her head and Ginny jumps in to help.

"Ensnaring the senses," the others begin to get into the game as Cassie nods excitedly.

"Bottling fame," Lavender adds quickly with a snap of her fingers.

"Brewing glory," Parvati nods as she continues along the train of inspiration.

"And even stopping death," Harry pronounces with a small grin, proud to have remembered it after so long, despite how he may feel about the man who said it.

"That's it exactly!" Cassie squeals excitedly, momentarily forgetting the small issue of her embarrassment about getting a detention. "But how did you…?"

"We each heard the same speech in our first year," Ginny tells her conspiratorially, making Cassie giggle.

"That must have been one outstanding speech!" Glory looks around at all of them with a fascinated expression as she sees the nods. "Especially if you all remember it after so long." She almost sounds jealous, which earns her a few surprised looks.

"It was," Ginny confirms. "Very inspiring actually. Whatever else you may say about the man, whatever complaints, you can't deny he's passionate about his potions work."

Glory only gives a peculiar smile and turns the conversation back to what happened with Cassie.

"So, he was making the speech and…?" she prompts, and Cassie quickly looks away from her, blushing.

"Well, when he got to the part about 'Brewing Glory'…" she trails off, turning an even brighter red.

Catching on almost immediately, Glory's cheeks turn very pink and she brings both her hands up to cover her slack mouth.

"Oh, by Merlin and the Founders and the Green Lady's grace, please, tell me you didn't?" Hardly above a whisper, yet none of the Gryffindors miss the words as Glory stares at Cassie with wide green eyes.

"I didn't," Cassie says urgently, looking very worried. Around them, the other students begin to laugh so loud they once again attract the attention of the hall. "But Demetrius did."

Suddenly, unexpectedly Glory twists around to stare at the Slytherin table, at Mira and Demetrius, who are pointing towards her and laughing. Ron mutters something insulting under his breath about Slytherins, but Glory ignores it for the moment.

"What did he say?" Glory asks cagily, not taking her eyes off the two young Slytherins.

"I don't remember the exact way he said it, but he just whispered something about you, and Professor Snape, and what he'd said, and I don't know, it just sounded so funny we couldn't help but laugh!" Cassie rambles quickly, looking and sounding worried that she may have upset her new friend so soon.

"And you got the only detention, right?" Glory asks Cassie, rubbing at her temples in a circular motion, still watching the two young Slytherins. At the quiet yes, Glory stands, eyes narrowing.

Ignoring the protests and shaking off the hands that try to pull her back, Glory glides over to the Slytherin table, to Demetrius and Mira, seeming not to notice that the hall has fallen silent to watch.

With her back to the High table, Glory crouches at the end of the Slytherin table, slowly crossing one arm over the other against the table top and resting her chin on top of them both. She looks between the two suddenly still students, smiling. They watch her warily.

"I need to talk to you both," she says sweetly. Neither of the younger students move, and a note of sternness enters her voice. "Now!" Mouths gaping, the two share a quick glance and stand. Glory rises stiffly, pointing with one finger, directing them to move ahead of her. They fall into step and Glory orders them to lead the way out of the hall.

As they near the middle of the hall, Cassie runs over and steps in front of them, stopping them from walking any farther.

"Ry, what are you doing?" her voice comes out worried, sounding higher than normal and carrying. Glory just looks at her with raised eyebrows and prepares to step around her. "No, Ry, stop. It was me! I did it! It's all my fault!"

"How very… Gryffindor, of you," Glory smirks and motions for Cassie to join the other two in front of her. She steps up beside her sister and shrugs. Demetrius smiles at her faintly and nods. "Move it!"

Ushering them from the hall, Glory doesn't notice a narrow-eyed Snape rise to follow, or Dumbledore placing a hand on his arm to stop him, his eyes twinkling merrily. And she certainly doesn't notice Professor McGonagall shoot the both of them an amused smile.

The remaining students, not only at the Slytherin table, but throughout the entire hall turn to each other trying to figure out what just happen. The story of this morning's first-year Gryffindor and Slytherin potions lesson begins to spread through the hall like wildfire.

Once in the entry hall and away from the all too interested eyes of the rest of the student body, Glory stops her young friends next to a flight of stairs.

"Whatever possessed you?" she laughs, turning to face the three. Mouths gaping they stare as she continues. "Tell me exactly what happened, what was said. I want to know everything!"

The first years exchange disbelieving glances and slowly start to grin. Mira rolls her eyes and focuses on Glory.

"Overly dramatic much, Ry?" next to her Demetrius and Cassie try to cover their laughter. They give up when Glory sticks her tongue out as her response.

Between the three of them, it doesn't take Glory long to hear exactly what happened. She flushes again on hearing the exact words Demetrius used.

"You've got a dirty mind for an eleven-year-old," she tells him drolly. He just looks back at her with an unashamed grin. "Bloody Slytherin," she laughs affectionately.

"So you're not mad about what I said then?" Demetrius asks, wanting to be completely sure. Glory shakes her head.

"No, I'm not, even though this is going to make me fodder for the school gossips for quite a while longer now. But, you know you really shouldn't mess around in Potions class like that though," she tells them, sobering quickly. Before they can protest, she continues her lecture. "Even a small distraction, a minor mistake, could cause an accident or explosion. People could get seriously injured." The younger students no longer look amused by their actions; instead they look upset by what Glory is telling them. This wasn't her intention with her speech and she quickly tries to reassure them.

"Look, I'm not trying to scare you by telling you this. I just wanted to warn you to keep aware of it." Glory smiles at them. "By all means, continue to play pranks and joke around. Have fun! Just be careful about it, who and where and what." Her tone becomes wry as she continues. "And perhaps Professor Snape wasn't the best target for such a blatant first attempt." They all laugh at that, thinking about the Hogwarts Potions Master.

"Now I'd like to keep this little conversation a secret, if that's all right?" Glory waits until they have calmed down a bit to ask them. They nod. "And I'd like the impression to be that I wasn't very accepting of begin made a joke like that. So do you think you could all look like I've just given you a terrible lecture or something?" Glory bites her lip as her young friends discuss it amongst themselves for a few moments.

"We're willing to give it a shot," Mira tells her finally, speaking for all three of them. "But we don't know if we're good enough actors to pull it off for very long." Demetrius shrugs and Cassie shoots her an apologetic look. "Any ideas what we can do about it?"

Glory studies them all silently for a moment, smiling as she comes up with something that she is sure will work.

"I do have an idea," she tells them slowly. "But it's not going to be very pleasant." After a moment, the younger ones agree to go along with it, trusting that it won't be something too terrible.

As the group of four re-enters the Great Hall, Glory looking rather self-satisfied while the younger students seem pale and shaken, a fact that nobody in the room misses. The gossiping whispers begin again almost immediately.

Nearing the end of the tables, Seth and Daphne each rise from their own seats to confront Glory about what she's done to their friends.

"What did you say to them," Daphne demands accusingly as Seth quietly asks the others if they are all right.

Cassie lets go of her sister's hand and throws herself at him, burying her pale face in his shoulder as she hugs him.

"You don't want to know," Glory answers her simply, watching as Mira steps closer to Demetrius and he wraps and arm comfortingly around her shoulder. Daphne notices this as well.

"Oh no, I think I'd like to," she tells Glory coolly, narrowing her cerulean eyes. Glory remains silent for a moment, watching her young friend appraisingly. She shakes her head, debating whether or not to actually tell the girl what was said outside of the Great Hall only minutes before. It shouldn't be necessary, but Daphne is obviously worried about her friends. Glory sighs.

"Fine," she answers, crouching down to be at a better height to whisper to the shorter girl. "But don't say I didn't warn you!" She leans in, speaking in a nearly silent whisper so that nobody else could possibly hear the words she says. She quickly sums up the talk for her, and Daphne begins to pale and even turn slightly green as Glory tells her the trick behind the others looking so shaken; picturing Mr. Filch dancing with his cat, Mrs. Norris, in a set of neon pink Speedos.

Daphne quickly collapses into her seat again, holding her hands over her mouth as if she is about to be sick. Demetrius and Mira quickly turn to comfort her.

Glory turns to face Seth, who is staring at her calmly. "I suppose you want to know as well?" she asks flatly, looking surprised as he shakes his head.

"I'd rather not, actually," he tells her, looking over at their friends. "I trust that whatever you said must have been no worse than what they deserved to hear." Glory smiles at him and Cassie hugs him tighter for a moment before stepping away. She looks up at Glory and nods.

"All right you lot, go finish your meal," Glory advises sternly. Mira and Demetrius look up at her and she motions with her head for them to go. They each give her a timid smile and quickly head off. Glory then turns to Daphne.

"Are you going to be ok?" Daphne nods carefully and after a quick pat on the shoulder, and ruffling Seth's hair, Glory leads Cassie back to their empty seats at the Gryffindor table.

"What happened?" Harry asks before either girl has gotten settled. Cassie stares down at the table, shaking her head and refusing to answer, even when the others start pressing for answers. "Glory?" she sighs and shakes her head.

"All I'm going to tell you," Glory replies exasperatedly, pushing her nearly untouched plate away from her after a few more minutes of harassment by the rest of her Gryffindor companions. "Is don't be surprised if you hear anyone spouting disturbing things about Professor Snape and myself for the next little while."

Standing quickly and grabbing her bag, Glory walks out of the hall once more, leaving behind a large group of shocked and disgusted looking Gryffindors.

The dungeons are surprisingly cool given the heat of the day as sixth years trudge their way down to the potions classroom for their last class of the day. Finding the door already waiting open for them, the students enter.

It is such a small group, consisting mainly of Ravenclaws and Slytherins, with a few Hufflepuffs for good measure. Smallest of all the houses represented is the Gryffindor contingent. Only four students have met the difficult criteria to gain admittance to the class, although two remain very much surprised to be there at all.

Everyone settles into the spot they feel they would be the most comfortable, mostly sticking with their housemates, and Harry sits with Hermione in the very back of the room, farthest away from the professor's desk, with Glory and Neville sitting right in front of them.

Across the dungeon, Susan Bones and Ernie Macmillan wave discreetly to the four, who smile back. Everyone freezes as the door slams behind them. Neville about jumps out of his skin and Glory grabs his hand beneath the table, stroking it lightly, trying to calm him.

When he reaches the front of the class, Snape studies the students in front of him, nodding to the Slytherins and glaring at the rest, especially at the Gryffindors. The room is silent as he begins to speak, very low and dark.

"You here in this room are the select few who have earned the right to be in this class." Here he breaks and glares once more at the Gryffindors. "I expect everyone here to be dedicated and pay extra close attention to everything in this classroom at all times. You are now entering you N.E.W.T level training. There will be no free rides or easy answers. You will all work harder than you ever have before, and I will accept nothing less than the very best from my students. The possibility for fatal mistakes at this level is much greater." He glares at Neville again, who begins to tremble even harder. "Anyone who feels unable to meet these requirements may leave this classroom now."

None of the students so much as twitches, each of them determined to stick with their choice to continue to study Potions with Professor Snape.

After a few moments of glaring at them, Professor Snape gives a flick of his wand and the board appears with a list of directions. He starts the class working on what he says is a 'simple' memory potion.

There is a rush of noise as the students scramble momentarily for ink and parchment and rush to copy down the notes so they can get started on today's assignment.

Instead of copying down the directions, Glory studies the board with narrowed eyes for a moment, as if something about it is bothering her. She scribbles a note to Neville quickly, keeping an eye that everyone else is otherwise occupied and not paying attention to them.

'What do Step 5 and Step 6 say?' she slides the parchment over to him and he shoots her a questioning glance. Checking to see that Snape isn't looking their way, Neville writes down his answer and slips the page back to her.

'5) Fold in 6 oz. of chopped Knotgrass and bring mixture to boil, stirring counter-clockwise for five minutes. Then,

6) Add 3 puffer-fish eyes.'

Glory frowns, her eyes closed in thought, before quickly rewriting the question on a new scrap of parchment and tossing it onto the table of the two Ravenclaws sitting in front of them, Terry Boot and Padma Patil.

Terry glances back quickly before grabbing the note. He too checks that Snape is otherwise occupied and scribbles an answer, casually rolling the note back to her beneath the table when no one is looking. Glory picks it up off the cold stone floor and smiles and nods slightly at him when he peeks back to check if it has been received. He quickly returns back to his work.

Reading his answer, Glory growls softly and looks up at Snape briefly with a glare that soon is soon replaced by a wicked smirk. Beside her, Neville glances at her very nervously as he continues to scribble away quickly.

Glory digs out a few extra pieces of spare parchment from her bag and silently spells them to copy whatever she writes on her own. She slides one across the table to Neville and sneaks two back to Harry and Hermione behind her when Snape has his back turned, helping out one of his Slytherins across the room. Ignoring the confused looks, she begins to scribble frantically on her own roll of parchment.

'We're being sabotaged! I've confirmed with ones in front. I'll explain more when I get the chance, there's just no time now. Follow this recipe, not the one you see on the board! No matter what happen, don't stop working! Urgent!' She quickly jots down the new steps for the potion that she wants them to follow, biting her lip when Hermione makes a sound of disbelief behind her as she reads. The small sound has drawn the professor's attention toward them.

Glory quickly casts another spell on her own parchment which, because of the previous spell, will affect that of the others, one which will hide her own writing and appear as nothing more than each students own notes should anyone else try to look, (much like the one used by students on the banned edition of the Quibbler the previous year). She quickly finishes scribbling her notes for them as Snape appears next to Neville, making the young man tremble more than a little.

"Why haven't you started your potions yet? Or do you Gryffindors," he spits the word out like an insult. "Think that you are above working in my class?" His contempt is made apparent. Glory looks up from her parchment and quickly answers for them all.

"We were just about to start, Professor."

He turns his glare on her, eyes narrowing even further as he takes in her confident stance and almost arrogant smirk. He gives her a look that clearly says 'We'll just see how long that lasts, now won't we.'

Quiet and dangerous, he moves to stand in front of her, scrutinising her every move. Now this is a tactic that is usually enough to unnerve anyone, and even Neville, who is not the focus of the attention, seems to be having trouble concentrating (which is not unexpected, with Professor Snape being so close and all). But Glory, on the other hand, continues to set up and prepare her supplies meticulously.

"Ms. Romansaul, tell me," he enquires smoothly, causing her to glance up at him quickly with a hint of irritation. He fails to notice, or chooses to ignore, the incredulous looks he is receiving from Harry and Neville. "Do you really expect to be able to walk into my classroom this late in your schooling and keep up with the students who have been here for five years already?" His voice becomes chillier as he continues. "After so many years studying under others, do you think you will be able to handle my class so easily?" His tone is disparaging as he brings up her previous teachers, implying that none of them could possibly have prepared her for the likes of him. At this, Glory looks up, meeting his eyes, while her hands continue to finely and evenly slice her caterpillar, steadily and without hesitation. Only the slightest flicker in his eyes shows he has noticed her ability and is impressed.

"I have met the requirements you set for all of the students who wish to continue their education in potions with you. If I wasn't acceptable, you wouldn't have allowed me in." She answers simply. Snape sneers and across the room the Slytherins smirk at her, pointing a laughing silently. Other students around the room look worried. They all know a Gryffindor doesn't get away with talking like that to the head of Slytherin house.

"Then you won't mind answering a few questions, so I can test you." Glory looks at him with a raised eyebrow.

"If you feel it's necessary," she answers calmly. Snape sneers at her again.

"I didn't ask for your approval," his lips twist into the semblance of a smirk as he begins the barrage of questions. "First question," he turns around and walks to the front of the classroom as he thinks. "What is a bezoar?" Glory blinks at him in surprise.

'That's the question?' she thinks sarcastically. She returns her attention to working on her potion as she answers almost flippantly. "It a stone found in the stomach of goat's that is used to cure many types of poisoning." Snape turns and glares at the tone of her voice.

"And what is the difference between monkshood and aconite?" Glory's eyebrows threaten to disappear into her hairline as she looks up at this question.

"There is no difference, sir," she answers calmly, adding the sliced caterpillar into her cauldron. "Those are both different names for the same plant. It's also called Wolfsbane, and it's a main ingredient in the Wolfsbane Potion used to ease the transformation of werewolves and make them less dangerous during the full moon." Her eyes spark with something that makes Snape narrow his eyes as he studies her.

"Well, at least you know as much as I would expect of a first year," he sneers disdainfully. "Give me the twelve uses of dragon's blood?"

There are a few stifled gasps around the classroom as many of the students turn to watch the new girl, waiting to see if she will be able to answer this question that most of them wouldn't be able to.

Glory doesn't lift her head as she quietly recites the twelve uses. She pauses momentarily to take a breath and then quickly recites half a dozen more uses. She finally looks up. "It is also useful as potent deterrent for rodents, a multipurpose potion ingredient and something of a delicacy to Vampyres." Snape blinks momentarily in shock, as do all the students, before snarling at her.

"There are twelve uses for dragon blood, you foolish girl, and it is far too volatile to be used in potions." Glory's eyes flare brightly as she answers back, calmly but firmly.

"There were twelve uses discovered by the alchemist Nicolas Flamel and Headmaster Dumbledore, but that does not mean there are no other uses." She sees she is making him angry by the veins that begin to bulge slightly at his temples, but she continues to press the issue. "There are Veela records dating back over a thousand years that list dragon's blood as the main ingredient in a large number of their potions."

"And just where did you hear such nonsense?" Snape's voice becomes more quiet and menacing, making his anger more evident. Glory slowly puts down her knife and adds the required measure of dried Billywig stings into her cauldron, making the potion a bright, poisonous green. The air about the cauldron smells faintly of almonds as she stirs.

"Through the records of a Veela which contained recipes over a thousand years old, one of which I, watched brewed and tested first hand." Her voice picks up a slight iciness as she speaks. With the exception of Harry and Neville, who faithfully follow the instructions Glory has given them, the majority of the students give up any pretence of working to watch the growing confrontation in front of them. Hermione, on the other hand, is following the instructions she has copied from the board, only half watching the clash between teacher and student.

"Then tell me, Ms. Romansaul, what potion would that be? What is it called? What is it used for?" Snape smirks, sure that he is about to catch her in a lie. Glory sighs and adds the next ingredient on her list, almost casually to the unaccustomed watcher. Only those who know her well can see the telltale signs of her tension and agitation.

"It's called Daljerosa Corvyanxus," she shakes her head slightly at the confused looks she receives and continues. "In English, the closest translation for it would be 'Crow Dance'. It's generally used on those born not of pure Veela stock, usually half-blood or less, to help ease them into their Veela inheritance, mainly the transformation aspect which, much like that of lycanthropes, can be quite painful." She pauses for a breath, keenly aware of the stunned expressions on her classmates faces. They are obviously wondering just how she knows so much about all of this.

"It also doubles as an extra means for males of Veela blood to attract interest, as this ability is less developed for them than for the females of the species," she continues, now noting the calculating look she is receiving from the professor. He realises now that she is either a very accomplished liar, or she is actually telling the truth. He seems to be leaning towards the former.

"On very rare occasions," Glory returns to working on her potion as she finishes off her impromptu lecture. "It is a gift offered to privileged 'Non-Veelas', be they muggle, wizard, or other humanoid species. In these 'non-Veelas', the potion creates a… temporary effect that allows the user to dance in the manner of a Veela, free of inhibitions and cares, while emitting a weaker, but similar draw on members of the opposite sex."

The look in his eyes before he turns away clearly says that Professor Snape has some sort of plan for confirmation of everything Glory has just said. He once more begins to walk up and down the dungeon classroom, checking on other students' progress. He continues to quiz Glory, throughout the class, venturing into some fairly obscure questions as he tries to stump her.

"What do you get if you mix eleoselinum with powdered Horklump?" Glory remains silent for a moment, thinking. He smiles darkly, thinking he's finally stumped her. "You don't know?" He looks smug; then unnerved slightly as she smiles at him.

"No, it's not that," she replies slowly. "Even though that question is well beyond something a new, first term N.E.W.T level student should know at this early a point in time." She adds quietly, tongue firmly in cheek and trying to pull off an innocent look. "It's just that, well, there are many possible answers to that question. With those ingredients, you get different results depending on the different ratios of each that you use. For example, in a five to one ratio it makes a very weak calming draught, but if you flip the numbers you'd get a fairly dangerous, slow acting poison." Glory pauses briefly for effect, letting the class again wonder where her knowledge is coming from, and then continues on smoothly. "Or that with 2 to 1 it makes up the base for a sauce used in traditional Veela Yule celebrations, but slightly less than 2 to 1 makes a very powerful aphrodisiac, as we accidentally discovered one year. So, I was thinking which one you wanted to hear." There is a mischievous glint in her eyes as she shrugs lightly. "Or whether it would just be easier to tell you all the ones I know, hoping that one of them might be the answer you were looking for."

Professor Snape looks outraged, so much so that he is speechless for the moment. Behind his back some of the students look to be placing bets on how much longer he'll put up with her cheeky attitude before he kicks her out of the class.

"How dare you speak to me that way you insolent little wench," Around the classroom there are looks of shock and upset on the faces of the students, as well as a few immensely satisfied looking Slytherins, glad to see Glory getting what she deserves for what she did to some of their own the night before.

Despite the reactions of the others, Glory doesn't give so much as a flinch or any appearance whatsoever that she has even heard what the irate potions master has said to her. Instead, she continues to focus her attention on the rapidly bubbling potion in front of her.

"Pay attention when I'm talking to you, girl!" Snape hisses. Glory looks up at him, continuing to stir her potion in even, consistent figure eights.

"I am paying attention, as I have been the entire time," she answers shortly in her most exaggeratedly polite voice. "You have just called me an 'insolent little wench' for doing exactly what I have been told to do by you. You told us to brew a potion, which I am doing. You wanted to ask me questions, which I have been answering," her voice remains calm. "Correctly!" she emphasises the word, even as she sees that she is only making the man angrier. "I do not need to stop doing one to engage in the other."

The students hold their collective breaths, waiting to see what their potions master will do to this foolish new girl who seems determined to challenge him at every step.

"If I stopped working on the potion to focus on your questions, then my assignment wouldn't get done and I'd get into trouble." Glory continues her tirade in the same slightly flippant tone she used earlier to answer his question about bezoars. "If I didn't answer you, it would end in the same result, me getting into trouble. So logically, to avoid getting into trouble, I must do both." She even has the audacity to smirk slightly as she says this.

"And as you have assigned me both tasks, I must do both or else you could legitimately say I wasn't doing as I was told." Her potion turns a vibrant yellow suddenly and she stops stirring instantly. Moments later Harry and Neville follow suit.

Professor Snape studies the three cauldrons with a gleam of absolute triumph in his eyes.

"At no point should this potion turn yellow," he sneers gloatingly. Neville and Harry glance at Glory worriedly at this pronouncement, but seeing that she continues to work, they do as well.

"Perhaps you should wait until we complete the steps and see the final results before you criticise," Glory mutters under her breath and he looks at her sharply.

"I think that the three of you deserve failing grades for this assignment," he takes an unhealthy pleasure out of the statement and turns away to check on his other students, who scramble quickly back to their cauldrons, trying to look busy. "And that will be fifty points taken from Gryffindor, Ms. Romansaul."

Glory rolls her eyes behind his back, ignoring the dismayed sounds coming from around the classroom, and adds three drops of armadillo bile into her cauldron, making the potion fade from yellow to deep blue. Removing her cauldron from the heat, she allows herself a smirk, knowing that her potion is now the right colour and once it cools a bit she can add the final ingredient, a single Jobberknoll feather. She freezes suddenly as she thinks about Snape's final taunts.

'Three of us?' she turns quickly to see Hermione about to add the puffer-fish eyes to her cauldron. Peripherally noticing Harry and Neville removing their cauldrons from the heat, Glory quickly flings a chunk of toad liver into Hermione's potion, causing it to turn into a solid lump. Hermione cries out in shock.

"What did you do that for?"

Snape turns from his praise of Draco's potion to see what the commotion is and notices Harry struggling to hold Hermione back from attacking Glory. He walks over and looks at what has become of Hermione's potion.

"Let her go, Potter," he sneers harshly as he stares down at the shrivelled orange lump that now sits in the bottom of the cauldron. "Well, Miss Granger, it appears that you too have earned a fail." He watches with a slight smirk as Hermione pales, looking panicked. It is, after all, her first time receiving such a grade.

"But it wasn't my fault, sir," she stammers, her eyes glazing over with tears. She turns swiftly, glaring as she points a finger at Glory. "She threw something into my cauldron!"

Snape twists around to focus on Glory menacingly, looking about ready to attack her when she freely admits to committing the act Hermione accuses her of.

"She was about to perform step 6," Glory adds quietly, looking significantly towards the recipe on the board in an attempt to draw the potions masters attention that way. "And I didn't really feel like dying, as it's only my first day here."

His eyes narrow as he catches her last comment and he too glances toward the board at the front. The slight widening of his eyes is his only outward reaction to seeing the altered recipe that could have killed them all if anyone had followed it.

"Everyone pack up and hand in your potions," the students stare at him in silence for a moment. "NOW!" There is a frenzied sound of samples being bottled, labelled and dropped off on Snape's desk, supplies being cleared away and the tables being cleaned up. "Class dismissed."

Hermione is the first person out the door, still stuffing things into her bag as she runs off in tears. Harry shoots Glory and Neville a quick looks and takes off after her.

"Ms. Romansaul," the tone of Snape's voice commands her to stay where she is. She settles her bag more comfortably on her shoulder as she faces him, waiting for the last of the lagging students to clear out. "Never again will you pull a stunt like that in my classroom. Am I making myself clear?"

Glory knows she has caused enough trouble for the potions master already and keeps her reply simple.

"Yes sir." He studies her suspiciously at her sudden acquiescence.

"You will report to Mr. Filch tomorrow night, and every night for the rest of the week for detention." Glory holds her tongue and just nods silently. "Now get out of my classroom."

Glory turns and walks to the door, noticing Neville waiting for her in hall, just out of view from the inside of the classroom. She hesitates for a moment before turning back to face the irritated potions master.

"Professor? For future reference, my name is pronounced Roman-Saul, not Romansaul." His head snaps up from the parchment he is scanning over to stare at her. "I thought you of all people here would have figured it out, being that you attended the wedding and all." She shrugs lightly and turns to leave, calling back over her shoulder. "Just thought you should know."

"Roman?" Professor Snape murmurs, rising from his chair. He reaches the door in time to see Glory, one arm wrapped around Neville, who is shaking his head at her, disappearing around the corner, the tail end of their cloaks flickering out of sight.

End of Chapter 4....