Review Responses:

Kurama: I am also very happy that Snape is dead, bastard. Ha ha

Peyton: Sorry, but he was floating around and I was tired of having to think of ways to pull him in. Go draw pictures of him or something. EEW

Chapter 12: Desmond

Harry and his friends woke on Monday morning for their classes. They were in uplifting moods seeing as how Ravenclaw had sufficiently slaughtered Slytherin in the match yesterday and that Draco Malfoy was currently walking around the castle moping and whining to his girlfriend Lisa. Harry was still troubled about the discovery about Professor Parker, but because of Sirius, he was slow to pass judgment against her. He needed solid proof that she had been a Death Eater, the Ministry had made errors before, of all people, he understood that better than anyone.

The trio sat down for breakfast and began to dig into their eggs and bacon, Hermione watched for her newspaper while Harry glanced up at the head table, searching for Professor Parker. She wasn't there, but neither were Snape, Dumbledore or McGonagall. There was a new addition to the faces up there, a young man with shaggy brown hair and bright blue eyes sat eating his toast a bit uncomforetably. Almost every girls face was turned staring at him because he was so handsome and Harry was sure that the man found it a bit unnerving. Harry tapped Ron's elbow with his own,

"Hey, who do ya think that is?" Ron shrugged, coming up for air from his plate he replied,

" I don't know. Maybe there was a substitute needed for some other teacher?" As soon as he was finished he bent down low over his food once more. Harry looked around the rest of the Great Hall, people were running to and fro, using whispered voices and holding up the newspaper. Hermione was annoyed,

"My Daily Prophet hasn't gotten here yet." Harry wouldn't have been surprised if someone had just taken her copy, what was going on? Harry stuffed some toast into his mouth and left the couple alone, wanting to talk to Proffessor Parker before class started he grabbed his bag and walked away. She would know what was happening.

A few minutes later Harry walked into an empty defense classroom, Professor Parker was no where to be seen. He debated going to her office to find her but thought better of it, she was sure to be there soon. Harry waited and before long the other students began filing into the room, none of them would look at Harry. That's odd, he thought to himself as yet another student avoided eye contact with him. The Slytherins filed past and gave him dirty looks one even whispering, "You happy now?" Harry was anxious, What was going on? Hermione came bustling into the room holding a copy of her finally delivered Daily Prophet, waving it at him. She was half way to him when the door opened once more and Remus Lupin walked inside,

"Please take your seats everyone. For those of you who do not know me I am your substitute Professor R.J. Lupin, Professor Parker is out for the day taking care of some business." All the students who remembered Professor Lupin were excited to see him, with the obvious exception of the Slytherins, everyone wanted to talk to him. Harry took this opportunity to snatch away Hermione's newspaper, glancing at the headline, he gasped,

HOGWARTS PROFESSOR FOUND MURDERED!

Last night, Ministry officials came upon the body of one Professor Severus Snape of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The cause of death is being labeled as unforgivable but officials are investigating into the surprising twist in the case.

William Brown of the crime squad had this to say, "The body of Mr. Snape was found bloody, beaten and tortured. This was no execution, this was a torture case."

Since Mr. Snape was close to Albus Dumbledore the obvious choice of suspects would be the Death Eaters but another interesting twist revealed specifically to the Prophet was that the body was discovered to have a Dark Mark. Court Records show the Mr. Snape was questioned years ago about his affiliation with the Death Eaters and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore vouched for him in court and he was let off of the charges. But his gruesome murder opens the door to more questions and concerns about Mr. Snapes activities.

"I trusted Severus Snape and the situation has caused much grief here at Hogwarts. We hope one day to move past this terrible occurrence and see the light of good that Mr. Snape was doing for us and the rest of the world. The students are devastated." Said Mr. Dumbledore late last night.

The students are being offered grief counseling in the wake of this terrible tragedy while investigators probe into the horrid death of this Professor.

For more on this story turn to page 4

Harry put down the newspaper, shell-shocked and looked at Hermione, the Slytherins were still staring at him with an unadulterated hatred upon their faces. Hermione and Ron stood there looking at him as if they were waiting for an explanation,

" I don't know anything! I swear!" Hermione nodded and Ron looked perfectly satisfied but Harry was not, Snape dead. But how?

Harry couldn't concentrate during class, many of the other students were happily listening to Lupin talk but Harry's mind was somewhere else. He anxiously awaited the bells ringing so that he could talk to Remus about yesterdays events. The clock ticked slowly and Harry began to wonder where Professor Parker was, who was the new heartthrob on the faculty? What did Remus know about Snapes death? Who killed him?

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Remus Lupin walked into the mountain cave holding a newspaper and a wrapped up turkey sandwich, both of which he threw at Sirius, who was still soundly asleep on the bed. Sirius woke with a start, "Whassamater!" he asked before noticing Remus and the sandwich.

"You made the front page again." Lupin replied casually, acknowledging the newspaper on his bed. Sirius, halfway through a bite of the turkey picked up the Daily Prophet and gave a stoic look,

"I don't know what you're talking about." Remus rolled his eyes,

" Don't lie, we all know it was you. Not that I was saddened by the news mind you, just that it was a bit sudden. Harry was asking questions, seems to think it's the work of the Order."

Sirius nodded, "Smart boy, what did you tell him?" Remus sat down on the solitary chair in the corner, "I told him that he would have to ask Dumbledore and then I got out of there as soon as I could."

Sirius laughed at him while he finished his meal, "Who did they get to replace Snape?" he asked.

"A guy from Ireland, named Desmond I think, around our age."

"How is Persephone doing?" Remus sighed,

"I had to teach her class today because she is trying to fix the problem you created by killing Snape. Apparently Voldemort had learned of a spy in his inner circle, now we know that it was either Snape or Persephone but he didn't know that. So by killing Snape she has to convince Voldemort that it was him who was the spy. I'm not sure how she's going to accomplish this but she can figure it out."

Sirius gulped, "Oh My God, I didn't mean for that to happen." he said apologetically before a worried expression came over his gorgeus face.

"She'll be alright, she always is."

&&&&&&&&&&&

Persephone returned to the castle after first period, her face bruised and swollen. She had had to take the blame for Snape's death, saying he was a mole for the other side she had had no choice but to kill him before he told the Order of her being a spy as well. Voldemort had been very angry and he had smacked her around a bit before he let her leave, in the end, her plan worked and although he was mad, he wasn't suspicious. So the meeting was ultimately successful. Persephone headed directly to the hospital wing and was disappointed to learn that Madam Pomfrey couldn't do anything for her bruises. Persephone left the wing with a salve covering her face, 5 minutes and her appearance should be back to somewhat normal.

She walked up the stairs to her office to change before her class, but as she crested the stairs she ran smack dab into a young man coming down carrying a large arm full of books. The books went flying and the pair tumbled onto the floor, falling all over each other.

"Ouch!"

"Damnit!"

"I am so sorry, here let me help ye!" Persephone finally looked at the man holding out his hand to her, he was still on the floor, covered just as she was. He had a large amount of brown hair on top of his head, his smile was perfectly white and he had the most amazing blue eyes she had ever seen. His clothes were muggle, like hers, he wore jeans and a black sweater that complimented his slightly tanned skin.

Her hand went to her head as she motioned at the mess on the floor, "Well it might be hard to help me up when you're just as stuck as I am." he glanced around and laughed, "Yea I guess you're right." She smiled and they're eyes met, practically sending an electric shock through Persephone. She cast a spell and all the books went flying back into their piles, he then stood and offered her his hand to help. When their skin touched Persephone felt a small, but good jumping sensation in the pit of her stomach. He felt it too and he smiled that brilliant smile at her,

"My names Desmond Blake. I'm the new Potions Professor here." He spoke with a thick Irish accent.

She smiled back at him, "I'm Persephone Parker. Defense Against the Dark Arts." He frowned when he saw the bruises on her face, "May I ask wha' happened?" she shrugged it off with a joke, "Oh just an occupational hazard teaching defense." He laughed before another bell sounded, reminding them that they had to be teaching their classes in one minute. Persephone regretted leaving him but she played it coyly and walked past him,

"Your names backwards." she whispered, he smiled and watched her retreat down the hallway.

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Harry sat in Potions not knowing what to expect, the Slytherins were glaring at him ferociously as if waiting for him to let his guard down so they might attack him. Ron and Hermione sat protectively on either side of him as he sulked into his book bag on the table. The door to the dungeon opened a few minutes after the bell rang and in walked the handsome man that Harry had seen at breakfast. There was a collective deep breath from the girls when he walked in. This included Hermione, Ron leaned over the table and cleared his throat at her, loudly.

"Hello class. My name is Professor Blake and I will be taking over this class due to the tragic situation that we find ourselves in." The Slytherins shifted angrily in their seats, he continued on, "I am 36, from Wales and I have been a Potions Master for 12 years and I hope that we can move past what happened and have a good year." He then went and wrote down all necessary ingredients on the black board and asked them to show him what they could do. For the next hour he walked around helping students (The girls seemed to suddenly forget how to do every little thing, so he spent most of his time with them.) He never stopped smiling the whole time, thinking of the lovely Professor he had just knocked over upstairs.

Harry liked Professor Blake, he was a good teacher, no question went unanswered and even Hermione didn't have a single complaint about his methods. At the end of the period he asked them about the potion and its uses, where to find the ingredients needed in the wild and most importantly when it should be used against or on someone. He assigned a short paper on how to make the potion and the students went up to their common rooms.

Desmond watched the students file out and as soon as they were gone, he bolted up to the Defense office, thinking of a good reason to be there while en route.

Persephone was in the shower, after an intense muggle combat training session with some of her fourth years she was drenched in perspiration. A knock came on her door and thinking it was Remus she called out for the person to just come in.

"Hello?" came a masculine voice that was not Remus, but Desmond. Her eyes opened wide in surprise, even though she was in another room the situation was still embarrassing.

"Oh! I didn't know it was you Professor Blake, I'm sorry, just give me a moment." she rinsed off quickly before stepping out to get a towel.

"Take your time." He replied as he looked about the small well lit room, the couch was a cream color as was pretty much everything else. There were specks of gold everywhere, it was elegant, but it was boring. 2 minutes later Persephone stepped out of her bathroom in a pair of loose fitting black pants and a white wife beater, drying her damp hair with her hands and a small towel. Desmond blushed,

" I really am sorry, I didn't mean to burst in here." She shook her head,

"Don't worry about it. Is there anything I can help you with?" She asked, taking out her wand and immediately drying her hair. Desmond thought as quickly as he could,

"I… Umm… I don't really know where everything is around here. Could you give me a tour?" Persephone smiled,

"Yea sure. Give me a minute." she retreated back into her closet and came out with her luxurious black velvet cloak covering her and the pair left to walk the grounds. While outside Desmond showed his amazement at how the flowers on the grounds were still luminous and beautiful. He stood by a rose bush and picked one, as soon as he picked it, the flower shriveled up and died in his hand. Its petals black and charred. Persephone walked over to him,

"Dumbledore put enchantments on the flowers after I told him of my theory about giving flowers to those you love. They cant die unless someone picks them." Desmond gave a strange look,

"What's wrong with giving flowers to someone you love?"

"Well," Persephone started, " I don't understand how something that dies so quickly can be a romantic symbol of love. It's kind of depressing don't you think?"

"I never thought abo' it, I guess your right."

She showed him all the hallways in the castle and what secret passageways she knew, the hospital wing, the kitchens and the entrance to Dumbledore's office before their polite conversation turned to their family life.

"My Mother, is back in County Kerry with ma' three brothers. What about your family?" he asked. Persephone sighed,

"I never knew my Father, he walked out on us when I was just a baby. My Mother was heartbroken and distant for the rest of her life. My brothers, Liam and Aedan they basically raised me but they died in a freak accident when I was 17. It hurt too much to stay in America so I put in a work transfer to come here 15 years ago."

"You were a teacher there?"

"No, I worked in…" for a moment Persephone was going to say government, but that could raise questions, " … as a secretary for the American Ministry. That didn't last long."

"But I thought this was your first year teaching. What have you been doing all this time?" Damnit Persephone, she thought to herself, I cant let myself keep slipping up like this. What kind of strange affect does he have on me? He is undeniably gorgeus, sweet, witty and kind. But I cant be feeling things like this. Can I? It HAD been almost six months since Sirius died. It felt like so much longer.

"Oh nothing really." she responded lightly.

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By the morning of December 25th there had been many more walks on the grounds and the pair had even begun taking their meals together. Dumbledore had had a training session with Persephone and he was confident in her abilities to take control, he had yet to tell Minerva of his impending death but he knew time was dwindling down.

The castle was abuzz with activity, couple walked hand in hand to classes and teachers had constant smiles upon their faces knowing that soon some of the students would be going home for the holidays. Draco Malfoy had taken to leading Lisa around as a showpiece for the fabulous necklace he had just bought her for Christmas. Ron and Hermione were more affectionate than ever and Harry had finally begun dating Ginny Weasley. Persephone missed Sirius most now but she was finding comfort with talking to Desmond. She knew that she had to keep her guard up around new people but she couldn't help trusting him, especially after Dumbledore vouched for him and she ran a background check herself.

What could she say? She was cynical.

On Christmas morning Remus showed up at Persephone's quarters with a packaged wrapped in bright green wrapping paper and a box of Christmas crackers. He looked a bit ill seeing as how it was right after the full moon he was still trying to recover. She was thrilled to see him and was smiling ear to ear, it had been almost a month since she had seen him and she missed him dearly. She took out her gift for him, (a new full length traveling cloak) and opened his. He had gone the same route, giving her a beautifully white knitted hat and scarf, she loved it.

Remus laughed at her larger pile of gifts from her students (mainly males) that had been accumulating all morning. She had more chocolate box sets than she knew what to do with. Most of the morning the two of them sat there talking of news and current events, laughing and joking until a knock came on the door. Persephone answered it to see a house elf standing in her doorway with a medium sized red box extended from his hands.

"From Professor Blake ma'am!" He squeaked before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Persephone brought the package to the table and pulled on the red ribbons while Remus watched curiously from his chair. Opening the box she found a bouquet of red roses, all alive and glorius, the note read,

I hope that one day you can use this as an acceptable symbol for your love.

Desmond

"Who's Desmond?" Remus asked as he leaned over the table reading the note and biting into a piece of chocolate.

"He's the new Professor here, we've become great friends, he's wonderful to talk to when you're not around." she said with the hint of a laugh in her voice remembering their conversation on the grounds about the flowers. Remus became a bit uncomfortable.

"Are you… dating him?"

"No!" She replied indignantly, "We're just friends Remus. Why do you ask? It's not like its going to make Sirius jealous now is it?"

"Oh I can bet it will", Remus thought to himself before saying, " I know that but… but…" he honestly couldn't say any reason that she couldn't or shouldn't without telling her the truth, "Its' only been about 6 months."

"Almost seven, and besides, I spent the better part of our relationship away from him. Then I spent it having to hide it, I'm tired of waiting. Life is too short. I want some frickin happiness, I think I deserve it." The air in the room had now become heavy and awkward, both knowing what the other would say they chose instead to sit in silence.

Its not that Persephone didn't love Sirius, she loved him desperately, but she had to try and live her life again. How long was she supposed to sit in mourning? She had been grieving for him since they went into prison, their time spent together last year only seemed like a dream. She was so tired of waiting and of hoping, especially when she knew nothing could come of her tears.

To Be Continued….

Next Time: Plans are put in motion to transfer power, but I'm gonna let Persephone be happy for awhile, she does deserve it.

Like/Hate? What about Desmond? Hope you like him!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, except for Persephone, Desmond or anyone else that did not appear in the books. So don't touch them!