Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in the Harry Potter universe J.K. Rowling does. The title "Waking the Witch" is inspired by the Kate Bush song of the same name. I do not own the song either. It can be found on Kate Bush's album Hounds of Love. The name Rosaleen was inspired by the Neil Jordan film The Company of Wolves. I don't own any of the characters in that film, either! I do, however, own my Rosaleen MacDuff Jasper, who is of no relation or incarnation of Neil Jordan's character in his film.

Waking the Witch

by Leah Pensotti

Chapter Thirteen: The Ghost of You

"Came in from a rainy Thursday
On the avenue
Thought I heard you talking softly

I turned on the lights, the TV
And the radio
Still I can't escape the ghost of you

What has happened to it all?
Crazy, some are saying
Where is the life that I recognize?
Gone away

But I won't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive."

–Duran Duran, "Ordinary World"

The fireplace at Grimmauld Place burned and crackled brightly as Lupin took in the warmth late in the evening. The house was so empty that words could not suffice just what he felt. He looked down at what he held in his palm with curious thoughts bouncing around in his mind.

Lupin had been looking at the bracelet for hours. The jasper stone caught the firelight and glowed and iridescent gray-green. Lupin thought about Rosaleen at Hogwarts; she was about to begin her first day. Soon she would be in the classroom amongst students, teaching charms and defensive techniques.

He would not see her for awhile.

As Lupin sat in his chair with the bracelet entwined around his long fingers, he thought of what he could do to push thoughts of her from his mind. There was, of course, the potion that she had entrusted to him, but he did not wish for a dreamless sleep.

"Your incessant thinking is what gets you in trouble, Remus."

Once again, the familiar rumble of Sirius's voice appeared in the back of his head. Lupin winced in disbelief, he really should not allow his imagination to run away with him like that. It wasn't healthy.

"If memory serves me correctly, Sirius, my thinking has gotten you out of some very dangerous situations in the past." Lupin quickly scolded himself for answering out loud. He had surely gone mad.

"Indeed, however, matters of the heart should not take so much thought. Stop analyzing and tell her how you feel, for Merlin's sake."

Lupin sat for awhile and mulled over the suggestion. Finally, he sighed and answered, telling himself that it was not Sirius's voice he was hearing but a figment of his imagination.

"Rosaleen is away now. She's at Hogwarts. I will not see her again for some time."

"Write her. Ask her to meet you on a Hogsmeade weekend or even another night. She is a teacher not a student, she is allowed to leave the grounds. Write her, Remus. I am sure she would love to hear from you."

The voice was right in some respect. He probably should write her. Lupin pulled himself from his chair and hobbled to the desk to retrieve a quill, some ink and a page of parchment. As he sat to arrange his thoughts and words, Lupin realized that it would be dawn soon. It had been another sleepless night.

Rosaleen felt a slight sting upon her skin and rolled over quickly to see that the sun peeked through a tiny sliver on the side of her window's curtains. It was morning and she had forgotten to charm the glass of her window to block out the sun. She scurried out of the way of the light and scared Persephone awake by her sudden movement.

She mumbled the charm quickly and swished her wand. This was the morning that she would begin her new title as professor. Rosaleen hoped that it would go smoothly.

She dressed in a fitted navy and plaid knee-grazing skirt and a tailored heather-blue dress shirt. Over which she wore a new robe that she bought in Diagon Alley; it was a deep navy that fit much like her waistcoat until it hit the top of her hips and then it fell floor length like a dress and the sleeves flared slightly at the wrists. As she buttoned the front of her robe, she pulled the collar of her dress shirt out of the robe's square neck so it was visible.

As she brushed her hair and twisted the front away from her face, Rosaleen thought of the day ahead and how she hoped that she would remember everything she wanted to say. As she looked at her pale reflection in the mirror that she charmed, Rosaleen smiled brightly and saw her porcelain, extended fangs and ran her tongue over them in contemplation.

She wished that she could be rid of them for once and for all.

Rosaleen charmed them and watched them shrink into the normal size canines that humans should have. The charm would have to do. She placed her wand in her robe pocket and kissed Persephone's head. She would be late for breakfast on her first morning if she did not get going.

As Rosaleen made her way through the corridors and to the stairs, students hurried around her. She decided to follow the masses to the Great Hall, seeing as though she had been warned about the moving staircases numerous times by all of the Weasleys, Lupin, Harry and Hermione.

Rosaleen got caught up in the aesthetics of the castle and looked upward as she entered the Great Hall and made her way to the staff table. That is, until she walked into a brick wall with a beard.

"Oy! Sorry there! Yeh must be Professor Jasper! I didn't get ter shake yer hand at the feast yesterday. Me name is Rubeus Hagrid. I'm the gamekeeper for the school and I also teach the care of magical creatures."

Rosaleen looked up at the large, broad man with the unkempt beard and smiled. Even though he looked gruff and mountainous, Rubeus Hagrid had a very kind demeanor. When he extended his hand to her, she shook it gingerly.

"It's nice to meet you, Professor Hagrid." She smiled warmly and he gave her a towering nod in return.

"Now, if ye'll 'cuse me, I got some beasts te ready before class."

Rosaleen smiled again as Hagrid scooted past her and continued to make her way to the staff table, where once again, her empty seat lay between Professors Sprout and Snape. With a courageous sigh, Rosaleen sat down.

Snape did not offer her a greeting or even a sideways glance. She smoothed her robes and was careful not to wrinkle them. After a long, unraveling of silence; Snape growled at her.

"The potion is done. I actually made two batches of it, in case you decide to dole it out or lose it once again."

Rosaleen's first inclination was to sneer and throw something as equally annoying at him. However, she improved her posture and merely smiled. She wished to be in a good mood when she entered the classroom for the first time and not seething from verbal swordplay with Severus Snape.

"That was very considerate of you, Professor. When can I pick it up?"

Snape looked confused, as if he had predicted just how she would respond to his remark. Obvious to Rosaleen, he had predicted wrong. She watched as he took a moment to gather his thoughts and then he spoke dryly and in a nondescript tone.

"I'll bring it around after classes."

Rosaleen nodded and turned back to her breakfast of tea and oatmeal and thought about the rest of the day that lay ahead. The charms classes would be very straightforward, thanks very much to Professor Filtwick's lengthy, day-by-day "suggestions" that she had found in the desk in her quarters. She knew all of the charms, so it was almost like teaching by numbers.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was a whole other scenario. She had worked on the lessons for an entire month while at Grimmauld Place and had helpful and constructive input from Lupin. Rosaleen had learned from Harry, Ron and Hermione that he was the only teacher in the position in the previous five years that was credible. It was obvious to her that they held him in high regard and trusted him. She only wished that she could live up to his standard; or at least do him justice with the direction he had given her.

Something told her that it should be him teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class. It should have been him for the last three years, but instead of risking placing a wolf, who was otherwise a kind and gentle man; they hired imposters. Now they entrusted it to her–a vampire with justice on her mind and a heart full of guilt.

Rosaleen allowed her mind to wander to Grimmauld Place and think about what Lupin was doing at the moment. The full moon was only days away and soon he would go into hiding. He was probably pale and drawn and feeling a little alone since the train had left for Hogwarts and the Weasley's had returned home the day before.

She decided to write him a letter when the day was put to rest. Rosaleen hoped that he would write her back.

It had been awhile since she had known anyone long enough to miss them; yet she waited to see Remus Lupin turn the corner of the Great Hall and flash her his famous lopsided grin that he wore in the mornings.

Rosaleen was freed from her reverie by the sight of the students and staff rising from their tables. Classes were about to begin and she felt her nerves crackle with a burst of anxiety.

It would be a very long, interesting day.

By lunchtime, Rosaleen felt her worry set in. The classes were larger than she had initially thought and learning names for seven years and four houses would surely be a trick. Teachers like Snape and McGonagall probably matched a name to a face and it was cemented in their memory forever.

Then there was the task of not getting lost thanks to the staircases. She lost momentum in the classroom after getting lost going to the Charms corridor in the morning. The looks on the first years faces said it all.

Rosaleen Jasper is a hack.

Or at least, that is what she interpreted it as.

Thankfully for her, the class itself went smoothly, no one lost an eye, broke a window or charmed another classmate's hair green by accident. Some would call that a success, but Rosaleen called it luck.

Before Rosaleen could sit at the staff table, Professor Dumbledore approached her with a small smile and the mysterious twinkle in his eye.

"Professor Jasper, would you please follow me?"

She felt panicked, but calmly held onto her books and nodded. She walked behind the headmaster as he lead her up stairs. Before she could censor herself, Rosaleen was apologizing profusely.

"I am sorry that I was late to class today, the staircases got me turned backwards. As a member of the staff I know that it is no excuse but..."

Dumbledore came to a halt before a painting and stated loudly, "Higgledy Piggeldy."

Of course, Rosaleen paid no attention to this because she was too busy making amends.

"And as for the students names, I know I can learn them..."

She stepped blindly through where the painting had been just moments before while following Dumbledore's every step. With the last syllable of her apology falling from her lips, she finally noticed the numerous pairs of eyes looking back to her curiously. Rosaleen froze and leaned over to Dumbledore and whispered.

"Pardon me sir, but where are we?" Dumbledore laughed lightly and patted her on the shoulder.

"We're on the west side of the castle in Ravenclaw Tower. I thought that you might like to have lunch with your house in the common room so you all can have a proper introduction."

Rosaleen smiled weakly, knowing once again that she painted herself as a daffy fool. Dumbledore raised his hands to gain the students attention and began to speak.

"As you know, Professor Filtwick has taken a year of sabbatical and we have hired Professor Jasper to fill in with Charms and being Ravenclaw's head of house as well as the Defense Against the Dark Arts post. I thought it to be wise that you all have a forum to get to know the new Professor and to give her a warm Ravenclaw welcome. Therefore, I am permitting you to have lunch in the common room today. Feel free to ask her questions, I am sure she is willing to oblige." Dumbledore patted her elbow with encouragement and turned to leave. As soon as exited, food magically appeared on the tables in copious amounts.

Rosaleen breathed in a sigh of relief and sat in one of the large blue chairs by the fireplace. She watched as the students happily took their meal and sat down before her on the floor like children getting ready to be read a bedtime story.

The common room was exquisite, with the thick blue and bronze draperies, dark wood, overstuffed chairs and sofas. Rosaleen diverted her attention back to the students, who were now all accounted for and waiting for her to begin.

"Before we get started, how about we go around the room and have each of you say your names and what year you are in."

After the students introduced themselves, Rosaleen opened the floor to questions. They started off pretty standard with "How old are you?" or "Have you ever taught before?" It wasn't until one of the first years, Rowan Steeple, raised his hand and asked a very straightforward question.

"What did you do in Boston if you were not a teacher?" Rosaleen gave a small sigh and thought over about how to respond. Did she say Vampire Hunter? A secret ally of the Roman Catholic Church? She smiled at little Rowan and replied.

"I worked in a position that could be compared to an auror, I helped find people who practiced in the dark arts. I suppose that is why they hired me for the Defense post." Rosaleen kept smiling, but it was far more complicated than that. She hated lying and she wasn't very good at it. Little pauses and hesitations showed the uncertainty beneath her exterior. Rosaleen hoped the students wouldn't be able to read into it.

As the lunch period drew to a close, Rosaleen took another look around the Ravenclaw common room; it was her house and in it were the children that Dumbledore entrusted her to protect. She smiled faintly, putting her worries aside to bask in the faith that a few humans had in her; Dumbledore, Father McCarthy and Remus Lupin.

At that moment, she felt a little better.

When her last charms class was over, she retreated to her quarters and hoped that she was not required to go to dinner. Sitting next to Severus Snape and having to pretend to enjoy food was almost too much to go through again. Surely the seating arrangements would be flexible and not permanent.

She put her books on the desk and caught a glimpse of Persephone stretched out on the bed asleep. Rosaleen chuckled and walked over to her kitten and grumbled.

"Lazy bones." As she fell back on the bed, Rosaleen heard scratching coming from her window. She sighed, really wanting just to lie on the bed and mimic her cat, and made her way to the window. A large, grayish owl hung in flapped its wings and acted impatient for her to let it in.

Rosaleen opened the window and the owl landed on the sill. She detached the letter it carried and recognized the neat handwriting immediately. She sat on her bed and began to read:

Rosaleen,

It has been less than twenty-four hours since you left and the house is horribly empty. I hope that you arrived safely and that your first day at Hogwarts is treating you well. In case I have forgotten to tell you, be aware of the staircases because they move and it is very easy to get turned around.

I will be leaving in a few days to take care of business, but I thought that I would write you before I left. If you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to contact me. I daresay that I would enjoy hearing from you about the most trivial of things. I keep expecting you to walk into the room at any moment, it's amazing that I have only known you for a month and yet I cannot remember a time that you were not here.

Perhaps we could meet on the first Hogsmeade weekend of the term? The Three Broomsticks is a very accommodating place for such events. It will be good to see you again outside formal meetings and events.

I wish you luck in your first week, though I have all the faith in the world that you will do wonderfully in the position. I hope to hear from you soon.

–R. J. Lupin

P.S. I, like you, believe the powers of jasper is an old wives tale. Even with your talisman I have been unable to sleep since you left.

Rosaleen reread certain lines over and over again. Especially the ones in which Lupin expects her to appear and when he confides that he has not been able to sleep since she has left for the school. Was he reeling her back in just to push her away once more? Rosaleen knew that Lupin's actions betrayed how he really felt. He cared about her, she knew that. Lupin cared for her as a friend that he related to on many levels.

So warm and yet so formal. The night they had kissed was the night that had changed everything between them. Friendship blurred and doubt had set in. Was it an accident? Because Rosaleen knew that accidents like that could happen. Yet there was so much emotion in the encounter. Maybe she was just imagining things.

So many thoughts. They clouded her brain as she sat at the desk, quill in hand and hoping to respond to Lupin before he left on his "business," which Rosaleen knew was the full moon. He was probably exhausted and sitting in front of the fireplace in the study.

Rosaleen twirled the quill between her fingers and stared at the parchment, willing words to form so she could write them. The gray owl flapped its wings impatiently and a knock came upon her door.

She raised an eyebrow, dropped the quill on the desk and rose to answer the door. When she turned the knob she saw an unpleasant sight waiting for her. Snape was standing in the hall, holding two bottles of the sleeping potion. He looked very unhappy to be there.

"Here." He thrust the bottles at her and she took them quickly.

"Thanks." Rosaleen placed the bottles on the desk and saw that Snape looked to be in no hurry to leave.

"Do you want to come in?" She asked with a confused look on her face and he stepped inside briskly and shut the door behind him.

"You weren't at supper. Are you ill?" He gave her a stern glare and Rosaleen sighed in defeat.

"No, I am just tired. I needed some time to think, recover and prepare for tomorrow." Snape crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at her.

"First day not as you thought it would be? More than you bargained for?" Rosaleen shook her head negatively.

"No, it's just going to take me some time to adjust, but I am a fast learner." A bought of silence engulfed them for what seemed an eternity and then Snape spoke.

"I thought that I would ask if I could assist with the research of the MacDuff clan. Would you permit me to borrow one of the books the priest sent you?"

Rosaleen tried not to look shocked or taken aback. He wanted to help? She shrugged and went over to her bedside table where she placed the books that morning. She took one from the top of the pile and handed it to him.

As Snape took the book from her, his hand grazed hers and a tense moment unfolded between them. He took her by the hand and looked at it curiously.

"You're always so cold and so pale. How is that possible? You're like ice." Snape ran his index finger down the middle of her palm in interest.

Rosaleen didn't know how to respond and chuckled dryly, "And you're looking at me like a science project."

Snape's dark eyes met hers and he smirked again. He released her hand and gave her a nod.

"I appreciate the book. I wish you luck with the Defense classes tomorrow." Snape did not growl at her as he normally did, but spoke lowly. She nodded in return.

"Thank you, Professor for the potion...and for the help with the research." He nodded again and closed the door behind him. Rosaleen fell in the chair at her desk and rested her head in her hands.

What in the world had just happened?

A/N: next up: Rosaleen meets up with Harry, Ron and Hermione in class. She writes Lupin and she and Snape actually begin to understand each other. Also, news on Collinwood and his interest in the MacDuff's is discovered, leading up to fancy clothes and a night at the opera.

Now that school is over for the summer, I plan to write, write, write before The Half Blood Prince is released. I am going to update like crazy!

Please Read and Review!

Love, Leah P!

To AstaraelUndomiel: I am always happy to e-mail you with the link. I also promise that lots of smoochies will be coming up soon! I hope your story is going well, let me know when you upload it so I can read it! Thanks!

To Angel of Harlem: I haven't seen Michael Collins in a while! Here is a little taste of Sirius, but more is soon to come. Rosaleen and Remus will correspond via owl post for awhile, but she is going to meet him on the first Hogsmeade weekend. Collinwood's story is going to have a breakthrough in the next chapter, thanks to Snape's help. I am counting down the days until the U2 St. Louis show! It is a little over seven months away! Love ya mucho!

To Maniac Lyta (Marie): I LOVE the suggestion of "La Traviata"–or "The Fallen Woman." Alfredo and Violeta should be perfect. Thank you! Thank you! The DADA classes with Harry and the gang will be in the next chappie! Thanks for the help and the review!

To Erlina Elf: I never got to read your complete review:-(. Thanks for trying twice, though. Hopefully it will be easier if you leave a review for this chapter. Love ya!