A/N: Ahhh! I'm soooooooooo sorry! I would've continued this sooner, except I sort of lost the notebook that it was written in… heh heh… next time I need to remember to check all of my suitcases and bags. At least I found it! So, um… yeah. Don't hurt me!
And for everyone waiting for the next chapter of Picture A Pirate, it's being worked on. I don't want it to be too cliché or anything though, so it's taking a little time. Sorry!
This idea was pre-OOTP, too, so Umbridge didn't teach his 5th year.
I have to apologize in advance for any spelling mistakes; for some reason, the spell check won't work in the story (but it works just fine in the A/N here… mutter), so I have to do all the checking by 'hand', and I might miss something. If you find something really major, please let me know so I can fix it!
Hope this chapter makes up for the short prologue. This is 15 pages long (w/ A/Ns, but still!)
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I'm hoping to get it for my birthday though… it's coming up if you want to buy it for me. D
Previously
"No; she didn't know anything was wrong until I firecalled her before coming down here." A few teachers sighed—it wasn't Death Eaters, or the kind Squip would have noticed and informed them. Her cats were wonderful spies when she asked them to be. Almost immediately, however, those few blanched as they realised what the rest had already figured out—if it wasn't the Death Eaters that had Harry, then who did? Albus shook his head and sighed.
"Any ideas what to tell the Ministry?" Slowly, words began to take shape as the professors overcame their shock and fear.
oOo
Chapter 1
oOo
Light flared sharply as Harry reappeared somewhere, with his trunk, Hedwig, and other belongings on the floor next to him. He looked around with wary emerald eyes, and shot backwards across the stone floor as he stared into a pair of onyx eyes. The owner of those eyes snorted softly, though with contempt, amusement, or both, Harry couldn't tell. A cool, amused voice broke through the boy's shock.
"Salazar, let up on the child." The black eyes flickered to the side, and Harry followed the man's—Salazar, he would guess—gaze to stare at another. Dirty-blond hair fell loosely about his face, making warm brown eyes look darker. He had a friendly looking visage, amusement plain to see. He wore a deep red shirt and black pants, which made him look almost normal. Harry's attention, however, was caught by something most definitely not normal for London. Hanging at his waist from the belt was a familiar-looking sword. Emerald green widened as a memory gave a hint to the sword, and therefore the man's identity.
"You're Godric Gryffindor! Then that means—" He turned to look at the owner of the black eyes, who simply arched an eyebrow. Sleek black hair flowed back, just long enough to be held by a leather tie. His skin was pale, with sharp angles in his face. A light smirk crossed his face.
"Yes, I am Salazar Slytheirn." He looked about to continue, but a warm, motherly voice interrupted.
"Godric! Salazar! You haven't even informed him why he's here." Two women entered the room, immediately moving to Harry's side. One wore a soft yellow dress, her dark brown hair piled in a bun on her head as she knelt and began to look him over, checking for any injuries. The taller woman, once assured he was not injured, rose to her feet and fixed the two male Founders with a fiercesome glare.
"You know Jumping is a shocking experience if it's your first time and you don't know what's going on." The men at least had the decency to look ashamed. The dark blue clothes the woman wore made her light brown hair seem lighter as she ignored them and turned back to Harry. She smiled softly, a change from her angry demeanor just minutes ago. Harry returned it hesitantly as she began to speak.
"I assume you've figured out that I am Rowena Ravenclaw, and your helper there is Helga Hufflepuff, since you figured out that these two dunderheads are Godric and Salazar." Godric coughed, finding from somewhere in him an air of seriousness that leaked into his speech.
"We brought you here to help you train to defeat Voldemort. You'll never be able to do it with what they're teaching you—honestly, what good is knowing how to turn a water goblet into a flower when you need to fight?—and we, Salazar especially, don't want to see you die." Harry's eyebrows furrowed, and he turned to Slytherin.
"What? You want to kill your own heir?" Salazar allowed a soft smile to escape as he shook his head.
"Sadly, he is my heir—he could not have my gift otherwise—and while he has much of my blood, he is not my Heir." A confused look must have crossed Harry's face, because Godric interrupted his friend to explain.
"We're able to choose a main Heir based on their characteristics, personality, and potential, not how much of our blood they have in their veins. For example, Rowena had an Heir who was only about 1/64th Ravenclaw, even while there was another alive who was 5/8ths Ravenclaw. Do you understand now Harry?" At his slightly hesitant nod of the head, Salazar continued his story.
"As I said, Tom Riddle is not my Heir. There is another, and Tom learned of this. A young girl, no more then 16 and the first from her family to show the gift of magic in so many generations that she believed herself muggleborn, had traces of my blood. This girl was at Hogwarts, under Dumbledore's protection, so he could do nothing when he was informed of her Slytheirn blood. He could, however, deal with the rest of her Slytherin-blooded family—and he did. The older sister, staying at a friend's house that night, survived, but the rest died.
"The girl, terrified for her survival, asked Dumbledore if she could stay at Hogwarts for the summer. The son of a famous Auror, who kept the boy at Hogwarts so he would not be targeted by the Dark Lord, was also there. The two slowly became friends, getting to know each other. During their seventh year, they progressed past friendship. The pair waited a year once they were out of school before marrying. She had a child, one who had very faint Slytherin blood. Even with that, I claimed him as my Heir." He shook his head.
"I should have waited. If I had, Tom would have waited a few more years before wiping out this branch of the Slytherin blood—or so he thought, as he didn't remember the older sister. He should have known better then to attack my Heir. When he struck the babe with the Killing Curse, the mother's love and my power reflected it off the child and back to Voldemort, who lost most of the Slytherin blood when I used the curse to strip much of it from him. It caused Tom to lose his body for ten long years while the child grew up with his aunt." He looked at Harry with a thin smile, taking in the look of shocked surprise as the boy voiced his thoughts.
"Then you're…" When he was unable to go on, Salazar nodded.
"Yes Harry. Your mother carried my blood; I chose you for my Heir. We had to wait for your 16th birthday so that you wouldn't be harmed by Jumping." It was Rowena's turn to explain.
"You're not in your world anymore, Harry—in this world, we don't die or age past 45, which is why we can still be alive to talk to you. Jumping is how you get from one world to another. In this world, time flows faster—every eight years here is one year in your world." Finished with her explanation, she turned back to Salazar. The dark-haired man nodded to affirm her words.
"We'll train you for 8 years—1 in your world—and send you back to fight Voldemort in what would be your 7th year." Helga rested a hand on the shocked boy's shoulder and led him out of the room as the others brought his belongings.
"Come on Harry, we'll find you a room so you can absorb all of this." Only as they reached a winding stairs did Harry realise this place was much like Hogwarts, yet very different.
oOo
about 8 years later…
Harry smiled patiently and enveloped a teary Helga in his arms once more, meeting the amused eyes of his other mentors over her head desperately. Rowena laughed and took mercy on him, pulling the witch that had been his 'mother' for eight years away.
"Now now Helga, you wouldn't want to get his clothes all wet, would you?" She shook her head, causing the now-24 year old man to sigh in relief. He had changed drastically over the years full of hard training. No one would compare this sleek, well-toned tall man to the short, wiry boy of 16 years who did whatever the Headmaster wanted, no ifs, ands, or buts. The raven black hair was done in the style of his ancestor, though a little longer. The green eyes were no longer hidden behind thick-rimmed glasses, having been magically cured by a spell Rowena had dug out and used. The lightning bolt scar was faint, barely a white line, easily covered with Muggle makeup.
He was dressed in a tight fitting black t-shirt under a loose, dark green silk shirt, tucked into black trousers. A few long daggers and throwing knives hung at his side, his preferred weapons of choice. Salazar handed him two long leather holsters, the attached straps dangling. Harry smiled and attached each one to an arm, hidden under his sleeves. With a short gesture of his hand, three wands appeared in the air before him, hovering. He pulled two down and slid them into the wand holsters, leaving his original wand hovering. One of the new wands was 13 inches long, made of rowan wood and filled with basilisk venom. The other was a little shorter, at 12 ½ inches long, and made of living wood. The core held thousands of tiny emeralds, mixed with miniscule onyx spheres. They had been made during the 8 years for Harry.
Harry sighed and looked at his phoenix feather wand before plucking it out of the air and handing it to his ancestor.
"Keep it safe for me, will you Salazar? I'll Jump back here occasionally to visit." Salazar grinned and clapped the man on the shoulder.
"I'm proud of you Harry. You're exactly what I wanted my Heir to be." Harry smiled as Godric shoved Salazar aside and shook his hand.
"G'bye Harry. Don't desert your training—I fully expect to have to work in order to whip you in the circle." Harry laughed and returned the handshake.
"Who says you'll win?" The Gryffindor founder grinned and moved back, and patiently took hold of a still teary Helga, allowing Rowena time to say goodbye. The woman hugged Harry quickly, whispering in his ear.
"Never forget Harry—Dark and Evil are two different things. You are not Evil." Harry smiled his thanks as Salazar clapped his descendent on the shoulder again.
"Well Harry, it's time. Before you go, I'd like to present you with a name worthy of your status, for you're not a Potter anymore. We'll see you again, Damien Raven Slytherin." With that, Harry Jumped, his destination crystal clear in his mind.
In the few seconds between worlds that always occurred during a Jump, Damien ran over all that had happened in the last eight years. He had started training almost immediately. Wandless magic, advanced spells, how to control his Parseltongue, many forms of hand-to-hand combat, sharpened reflexes, weapons, horseriding (Helga said it was always best to be prepared), and much much more. Then he had the more normal things—Arithmancy, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, Potions (something he discovered he was good at, with Salazar's help), Ancient Runes, History of Magic, and a mixture of Charms and Transfiguration. And in case that wasn't enough, Helga had insisted on the Muggle classes. That meant that, in eight years, he had physics, chemistry, history, English, biology, algebra, geometry, calculus, and what seemed like fourteen other subjects pounded into his brain, good enough for high degrees in all but history, since there was just too much from the Wiarding World for him to mix in lots of Muggle history as well.
Despite all the work, they still had time to just 'be', and that's when they became a family. Helga was the loving, worried mother, watching over all of them. Salzar and Godric were like brothers, while Rowena was the stern and understanding sister who would break up arguments and keep them all in line.
He had no more time to ruminate as he landed, a soft thud next to him marking the arrival of his bag of belongings and his trunk. Damien held out one arm, allowing the large bird that was flapping frantically to perch. The raven glared angrily at him, causing the man to chuckle, as an old snowy owl fluttered easily to land on the trunk.
"I apologise Karal. Are you alright?" Dark eyes pierced through the air to meet his gaze, and Damien nodded. Hedwig hooted lightly in amusement from her perch.
"Alright. Let's go—this isn't a place to just stand." He heaved the bird into the air, helped the owl take flight, and lifted his bag after shrinking his trunk, walking out into Knockturn Alley with the confident air of someone who shouldn't be messed with. Karal flew above him next to the aging Hedwig, silently following their friend.
Damien pausded near a store called 'Alexander's Dark and Dangerous Animals' and looked at the two birds. They seemd to sigh and found perches across the street, staring at the man. With a slight smile, he ducked inside the store. That smile quickly turned into a frown once he saw that yes, what he thought he had seen through the window was indeed happening. Four burly men strained against ropes to hold a huge snake straight and still, long enough to be hit with a curse from a wand that was beginning to glow green. Immediately, Damien strode forward, emerald eyes cold.
"Stop. What is going on here?" All the men looked up, though four of them looked down again immediately as the snake continued to struggle. The fifth stared at Damien.
"We're getting' rid o' it. No one'll buy the wild thin'." A cool, feral smile hovered on Damien's lips.
"I'll take it." The man stared.
"Y'don't wan' this one sir—ain't possible t' tame it." Daimen raised an eyebrow.
"Oh really? What would you say if I could tame it, right here?" The man snorted.
"Then y'could have it fer free." With a smirk, the 24 year old moved past the burly men to the snake's head, crouching to eye level. Silently, they stared at each other for about a minute before Damien reached out with a hand and rubbed the snake's head scales. He met the shocked eyes of the store owner.
"I'll see you around." He met the snake's eyes again and held out his arm. The long, silver-grey snake wound up it to drape around his shoulders and neck. Without saying another word, he turned and walked out of the store. The men behind him stared, shocked. Alexander whistled slightly.
"I don' know who 'e was, lads, bu' I'd 'ave t' say we watch our step 'round the Snake Tamer…"
oOo
Damien grinned slightly, though it was hidden behind his cup of Fire Whiskey. News spreads quickly in a place like Knockturn Alley, and the snake certainly helped others identify him. He glanced down at the snake's head, which was currently resting on the table in front of him, with a thin smile as he remembered what had happened the other day after he left the shop.
Flashback
Karal and Hedwig winged slowly over head until they reached a side alley, much like the one they had appeared in. There Damien looked down at the snake, amusement in his tone as he spoke in parseltongue.
/Ssso, do you have a name/ He chuckled when a triangular head rose to stare at him.
/You ssspeak/ He smiled, even as he marked the voice as female.
/Yesss. My name is Damien Raven Sssslytherin./ Pale violet eyes widened slightly before the head bowed in respect.
/I am honored, Damien. My name isss Sssiltivi./ Damien smiled at Siltivi.
/The honor is returned, Sssiltivi. Now, if I may be ssso bold asss to asssk, what type of sssnake are you/ She chuckled lightly, distributing her weight more evenly on his shoulders.
/I am a Taigone sssnake. What thossse foolsss in the ssstore didn't realissse isss that I chossse my massster, not the other way around. They tried to forcsse my choicsse, ssso I fought them. I am glad to sssee my decsssisssion wasss a good one. I will eat virtually anything, but pleassse let me know if there issss sssomething I ssshould not eat. I will fight to protect you, or if sssomeone getsss on my nervesss. If what my clan taught me isss true, you and I will eventually have a mental link and a bond./ She fell silent, waiting for his reaction. It wasn't long in coming.
/Excssellant! Thank you for telling me Sssiltivi. Now I think we ssshould go create a reputation./ Siltivi hissed her amusement as they headed for one of the taverns.
End Flashback
Damien grinned again—they hadn't needed to make a reputation, just enhance it, and with Siltivi, it hadn't been too hard. He glanced down at the snake and smiled again. She was several feet long of almost solid muscles and scales, with poisonous fangs almost six inches long. The scales were a plain silver and grey, the mixture giving her a shimmering appearance. Add that to the fact she weighed over a hundred pounds, yet he carried her with no apparent strain or difficulty (he thanked the Founders for their training), and they made quite an intimidating pair. With a feral smile, he returned to his drink, waiting for the summer break to come to a close to he could go to Hogwarts to apply for a job, blissfully unaware that word of the Snake Tamer was making its way to the Headmaster himself.
oOo
Dumbledore looked up as Sirius Black's head appeared in his fireplace, the man's face drawn. It had been a year since his godson's death—or what they assumed was his death, since there had been no news at all—and it had clearly affected the convict. However, the man did his job of watching just as well, if not better. Albus smiled slightly.
"Hello Sirius. What can I do for you?" The head looked carefully at his friend.
"There's someone new at Knockturn Alley, Headmaster. Everyone calls him Snake Tamer—no one knows his real name, but the first day he arrived, he apparently tamed this really big and wild snake in minutes. I haven't seen the man myself, but I doubt he'll be hard to find—from what I've heard, the snake is always with him. What do you want me to do?" Albus thought for a minute, taking in all Sirius had said.
"Don't show yourself-you're still a fugitive, after all, and we don't know what he'll do. I'll send Severus to check it out tomorrow." Sirius nodded and disappeared from the flames as Dumbledore clapped his hands twice. With a small pop, a house elf appeared in front of the desk.
"Is Master Dumbly wanting something from Bumbles?" Albus smiled at the house elf.
"Yes Bumbles. Please tell Severus Snape I need to see him. That will be all." With a small bow, the hosue elf popped out of existence. Several minutes later, Severus entered the room. Unnoticed by both of the office inhabitants, four portraits opened one eye each to pay attention to the conversation.
"Severus, I've just had a firecall from Sirius. Apparently, there's a new person everyone is calling Snake Tamer at Knockturn Alley. He has a large snake that he carries with him; he apparently tamed it the first day there when it was going to be killed. Aside from that, we don't know anything about him, and Sirius can't follow him. I need you to go and find out what you can of this Snake Tamer." Severus frowned slightly, thinking over the information he had just been given.
"I don't know anyone who fits that description. You want me to see if there is any inclination of him joining Voldemort?" Albus nodded, and Severus sighed.
"I'll go tomorrow." The tall man swept out of the room, leaving Dumbledore behind. The Headmaster sighed and rubbed his temples lightly before standing and heading for the Deputy Headmistress's office to talk about this new development. In the office, the portraits of the Founders exchanged looks and withdrew for a conversation.
oOo
Damien looked up from his seat near the back of the pub he had become a regular in recently, The Darkened Door, as someone very large entered the building. He smiled, albiet a little sadly; here was Hagrid, his first friend—and the best information giver of the Wizarding World, once you got him drunk. With that thought, he rose, allowed Siltivi to resettle herself, and moved to sit at the bar next to the big gameskeeper. He took another sip of his drink and waited.
He didn't have to wait very long.
"Is tha' a Frearne snake?" Damien looked over in well-played surprise.
"No, she's a Taigone, but I can see why you might've thought Frearne. They do look a lot alike." He made a motion to the bartender with one hand, and pushed the glass of Fire Whiskey towards Hagrid.
"How did you know about the Frearne snakes? They're not very well known." Hagrid looked smug, even as he downed the drink and had it refilled.
"I'm the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, an' the groundskeeper a' Hogwarts fer several years now." He finished the mug again, his big gulp making it seem like he was drinking less. Damien passed a Galleon to the bartender with a slight hand motion towards Hagrid. The 'tender nodded, pocketed the coin, and began to keep Hagrid's cup filled. Damien smiled at the large man.
"I imagine you know almost everything that goes on at Hogwarts then, don't you? What sort of teachers have been there?" Hagrid beamed at the interest shown and launched into a detailed story on the professors of Hogwarts.
oOo
Two hours, four galleons, and who knows how many mugs of Ogden's Fire Whiskey later, Damein helped a happily singing Hagrid towards Diagon Alley. He left Siltivi near the entrance to Knockturn and pulled the half-giant down the street until they ran into an Auror, who seemed shocked. Damien smiled apologetically.
"I'm terribly sorry to ask this, but I'm late for a meeting. Can you bring this man to Hogwarts? I found him drunk at one of the pubs around here, and finally managed to find out he works at Hogwarts." When the Auror nodded slowly, Damien smiled in relief.
"Thank you! I've got to go now. Please help the man!" He turned down several side streets until he heard the tell tale pop of someone Apparating away. Whistling softly, he returned to Knockturn Alley and picked up Siltivi. As they headed for the small room where he was staying, he thought over what Hagrid had told him.
At Hogwarts, and the rest of the Wizarding World, Harry Potter was thought dead. Voldemort was fairly quiet—with Potter gone, he didn't feel goaded into action and was content to take his time. The Defense Against the Dark Arts position was once again open to interested parties—the previous teacher, who had managed two years, had just left to become an Auror. It was that open job postion that interested him most—it would be a good idea, in that he'd be able to warn the students of the coming danger, and work with the professors. As his head touched the pillow, his last thought before sleep claimed him was that he'd go apply tomorrow…
oOo
Severus Snape groaned into a cup of vodka, looking over the rim at the pub. He had followed the leads he'd gotten from inquiring on the Snake Tamer to this tavern, but he hadn't been able to find anything more on the elusive man. None of the pople he had asked in here knew where he was, but this was apparently the last place he'd been seen. He sighed and took another drink. At least he had learned when and where he showed up. He'd appeared in Alexander's Dark and Dangerous Animals shop four days ago, when he had tamed the snake. No one knew where he came from before that, or what his history was. He'd started to frequent this bar after that snake incident, but he hadn't shown up yet this day. With an annoyed scowl, and a request to the bartender to Firecall if the Snake Tamer showed up, he left the pub.
oOo
Dumbledore steepled his fingers and looked over his halfmoon glasses at the young man in front of him. Minerva had brought him in, a little warily, and whispered to him that this was a candidate for the DADA job. Almost idly, he wondered if he should Firecall Severus and inform him that he need not spend the day searching for the Snake Tamer—it was clear, wihtout a doubt, that the man sat here before him. The huge snake draped over his shoulders as easily as a feather boa gave proof to that. Deep emerald watched him back, the walls in his eyes mirroring the snake's pale violet as the man played on the near-lost laws of wizarding custom—when you were plying host a stranger, if they gave their name first, you would have full rights to escort them out if that's what you wanted. If you gave your name first, however, you had to entertain them until they had at the very least explained their business, and even then you were pushing it. A minute later, Albus smiled.
"Wonderful job, my friend. Not many have followed custom, much less waited so long. I assume you know my name is Albus Dumbledore. May I inquire as to yours?" White teeth flashed in a quirk of the lips that passed for a smile as the man bowed slightly, though he remained sitting.
"Certainly, Headmaster. My name is Damein Raven. I stumbled across your gameskeeper last night as he was drunk; after several minutes of trying to get an intelligent answer, I learned he worked here at Hogwarts. As I brought him to an Auror that could return him here, he told me you were having some difficulty in finding a Defense teacher. I thought I'd come to see if I could help. Defence has always been my favorite subject." Albus chuckled softly.
"Thank you for returning my gameskeeper in one piece. Hmm… Damien Raven… a strange name." Damien only smiled politely, taking no offense at the comment as the man continued.
"Yes, we are in need of a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. In fact, I have a test right here to see if you can fufill the job." Damien waited patiently as he rummaged in the desk for a minute before coming up with a packet that he handed to the younger man. Damein read the first few questions, then looked with a raised eyebrow at the Headmaster.
"What type of soap do I prefer, lilac or rose?" An impish grin crossed the old man's face.
"Now now Mr. Raven, your time is ticking away." With a chuckle, Damien began to fill out the test, a mixture of DADA questions and other seemingly random questions.
Thirty minutes later, he set the pile of parchments on the desk.
"Here you are sir." Dumbledore picked them up and read it quickly, a smile on his face. With a wide grin, he placed the test back on the table.
"Well Mr. Raven, you are most qualified. If you don't mind me asking, where did you learn?" Damien smiled, a faint longing look escaping the mask on his eyes.
"I was taught by my family. I'm afraid I cannot tell you who they are—we've been secret for years, and I swore I would not give them away." Dumbledore nodded in acceptence, and rang a soft silver bell. There was a moment's silence, and an ancswereing trill floated towards them as Fawkes flew in. Damien smiled as the phoenix circled the room once, then landed on the tall man's knee. Emerald met soft crimson as they stared at each other. About a minute later, Fawkes gave a cheerful trill and butted Damien's hand. Chuckling, he stroke the bird's head as Dumbledore smiled.
"Welcome to the staff Mr. Raven. I look forward to seeing the classes you will teach." Damien chuckled again as Fawkes fluttered over to his perch, and stood.
"Thank you sir—or should I say, Albus," he said, as the Headmaster opened his mouth to correct the other. Albus grinned and called to thin air.
"Minerva!" Minutes later, McGonagall approached the door, looking in.
"Ah, there you are. Please show our new Defence teacher his rooms, my dear. I believe you know the ones?"
"Yes Albus." She smiled at him and led the way through the castle towards the dungeons. She halted in front of a tall painting. A room far to familiar to him was portrayed, as well as four very familiar people. The Founders grinned down at them from the Practice Room, where they had spent much of their time. Minerva smiled and turned to Damien.
"The password is currently Sugar Quills. Before I leave you, in case Albus forgot, do you have everything you need?" Damien smiled charmingly at her.
"Yes, thank you." She smiled and left, almost running, but remembering her dignity at the last moment. Grinning, Damien turned to the portrait and smiled.
"Sal, wake up." The man in green, who had been resting on a couch, shot straight up. The other three Founders and Damien burst out laughing. After calming down and returning sneer for sneer, Damien asked his question.
"Is it possible to Move here? I left Karal and Hedwig and my stuff back in the Alley. And how do I change the password?" The grumpy black-haired man glared, but did answer.
"Moving should work—I doubt any wards added can block it, since no one knows of it. And just tell us the new password."
"Draken Tears." The picture swung outwards, and Damien entered.
A minute or two later, after the original examinaiton of the suite (A/N: Make up your own, I'm feeling lazy.), Damien returned to the living room and sat on the large sofa. He focused on a spot on the floor, closed his eyes, and twisted something. There was an annoyed squall and hoot as Hedwig and Karal appeared, fluttering madly before they dropped to perch on the trunk beneath them. Damien chuckled and opened one of the windows with a wave of his primary wand, the rowan wood and basilisk venom one.
"Sorry Karal, Hedwig. Can you two go to the Owlrey? No fighting, and Hedwig—try to stay hidden." With a short, sharp, mutter-like caw, the raven lifted off the trunk and swooped out. Hedwig hooted comfortingly before she followed the other out as Siltivi hissed her amusement from her head's place near his wrist. Chuckling, Damien rose and headed for the Great Hall to eat. Halfway there, he nearly ran into Severus Snape, who was stalking angrily towards the dungeons. Severus halted and did a double-take, then scowled.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Albus appeared at that very moment, smiling.
"Ah, Damien! I see you've met our Potions Master, Severus Snape. Severus, meet our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Damein Raven. Now, Damein, I was just on my way to make sure you could find your way to the Hall…" Albus drew the young man into a discussion as he led him froward, but not before he had glanced at Severus and his belittling sneer. Green eyes flickered for a moment before the Headmaster and Snake Tamer vanished around a corner.
Severus scowled as he paced the floor of his bed chamber. Trust the bloody old coot to 'forget' to inform him the Snake Tamer was found. Not only that, but his rooms were in his dungeons! His feet followed the well-known path in the room—61 steps, 27 steps, 10 around the bed, 25 steps, and another 61. His pacing paused as the revelation struck—he was going to have to put up with another year of not getting the job he wanted!
oOo
Damien shifted restlessly in his seat between McGonagall's empty chair and Sprout at the Head Table, watching the 2nd through 7th year students enter the Great Hall. Siltivi lifted her head from the table and met his green with pale violet, hissing softly.
/Calm yourssself Harry. You will be fine./ He grinned slightly; even though he couldn't answer, it was nice to hear a friendly voice. Several minutes later, the Doors swung open to admit the first years and Minerva. The Hat opened its mouth to sing, and the stern woman began the Sorting when it was done.
As students ran to the different tables, he clapped, though he was watching a certain group of 2 seventh years and a sixth year. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny looked a little worse for the wear. They had evidentally taken his disappearence and presumed death hard. He hid his wince as the last first year was Sorted into Hufflepuff, and Dumbledore rose with a smile.
"Students! Welcome back, and welcome to those of you who are here for the first time! I have a few announcements to make before we begin the meal. The Forbidden Forest is, as the name states, forbidden. Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has added Bopping Bees to the list of prohibited items. The full list of 726 items is available for view in his office. And, finally, it is my pleasure to introduce to you your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Damien Raven." He rose and nodded slightly in acknowledgement of the polite claps as students stared at the snake he carried. Silently, he watched as whispers broke out across the room while he sat, amusement slipping past his carefully guarded eyes.
Down at the Gryffindor table, the seventh years looked up at their new teacher. Ron blanched slightly and stared.
"…'Mione? He's got a really big snake… you don't think it's Nagini, do you?" Hermione looked up and shook her head.
"Not possible. That's definitely not You-Know-Who, and Nagini always stays with him." Ron eyed the man again, and sighed.
"I bet he was a Slytherin." Hermione frowned at her friend and began to berate him.
"Ron! You know that not all Slytherins are bad, and besides! We don't even know anything about him! This is the first we've ever seen him, of course. You can't place him in Slytherin simply because he carries a snake. After all…" She conitnued her tirade, not noticing the very man she was defending glance down at her.
Damien smiled sadly before turning to Ivy Sprout, one of the few teachers who didn't treat him with suspicion. It probably had something to do with the fact that he'd managed to find a Cendo Flower1for her the other day, much to her delight. The professor smiled at him.
"Can I do something for you Damein?" He gave a charming smile back to her.
"You could tell me what students I need to watch out for, and who I need to know of, my sweet intelligent Ivy." She laughed at his blantant, playful flattery, looking out over the Hall.
"In Ravenclaw, a second year named Carlos Dimond. He seems to be following in the footsteps of the Weasley twins." He glanced at his newest friend.
"'Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes' Wealsey twins?" Ivy groaned and nodded.
"Save us all, yes. Be thankful you weren't around here when they were—absolute menaces, the two of them. Anyway, Carlos from Ravenclaw. There might be one or two from my house, Hufflepuff, but the main troublemakers left last year. Gryffindor and Slytherin, now, there's your main problem houses. They have a rivalry, but probably your biggest confrontations are between Draco Malfoy, Slytherin seventh year, and Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Ginny Weasley, Gryffindor seventh years and sixth year. Harry Potter would be in that group, if it weren't for his… disappearence… last year." She sniffed and dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. Siltivi lifted her head and hissed in quiet worry to the pleasant herbology teacher. Damien rested a hand on her shoulder, sending comfort.
"There now Ivy, my apologies. I didn't mean to bring it up. I don't need to know more—I assume I'll find out in my classes. Albus gave me seventh year Gryffindors and Slytherins for a Double class, first thing after breakfast tomorrow. Now I wonder if he's trying to give me a migraine." The witch chuckled at his dry tone.
"Maybe you should ask Severus for a potion so you'll be prepared." Damien glanced down at the surly man, met impassive onyx eyes, winced slightly, and turned back to his friend.
"Maybe not. I'm under the impression he doesn't like me too much. The dungeons feel like a cauldron with the lid on and only the smallest posible margin of air between the top and the bubbling, boiling water inside." She laughed at his analogy, grinning.
"Yes, he can be a little oppressive, can't he? Ah well. Do your best Damien. I'm sure you'll do fine." He nodded thanks to her, and they both dug into their meals with gusto, Siltivi occasionally stealing something off his plate, much to his irritation. He looked out over the Hall again, however—he'd have his work cut out for him if he was going to keep them alive in their future, and it weighed heavily over his head. Green eyes hardened and narrowed—none of them would die if he had anything to say about it.
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tbc…
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1 Cendo Flower (in case anyone is interested) is something I made up. It's one of the more beautiful flowers in shades of blue; it is extremely rare and has only about 5 known homes. It thrives off magic and is incredibly hard to aquire because it begins to drain anyone, Muggle or Wizard, that nears it of their life force. You have to cast a complicated spell over it that will keep it from sucking magic out of something it's not supposed to, and produce a special stone that holds a type of magic that will replenish itself. I just wanted to give Sprout a pretty flower, and needed a reason for her to be a friend to Harry.
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A/N: Phew! 15 pages! Also known as page 21 out of 51 handwritten pages. Not much to say now. Except I keep mixing up the words I want to write with the ones that I'm singing along with… That's only in this A/N though! hums
Thanks to:
Fishnetfairy, Silver-Entrantress-Elf, flute9217, Rhyllen, OrganiclyMe, Xblilyia, shion20, and Hellfire Ashwolf. –Thank you all for reviewing!
Silver aingel: (aka Krystal) I love you too! (in a completely straight way) Sorry I haven't been on, and that I didn't update this—I can't believe I lost the notebook! smacks head several times Thanks for reviewing and making me get up off my butt and look for the notebook, which is what your second review did. sheepish grin
Uten: Yeah, I know the prologue was short and pretty basic. It was basically written to help get rid of the plot bunny that was plaguing me, and then it grew and grew… but I didn't want to go too far into the story until I had it written… but I wanted reactions… so I just posted the short part. Anyway, here's more, so I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know if you think if this part decides whether it is a good story or not. Thanks for reviewing!
I'll type more later. B'bye!
Kaaera