CHAPTER FOUR:

SOMETHING OF A CHAPTER

By the Goddess of Silence

Severus Snape sat at his desk, his head down. Minerva was worried that Harry would try to attack him. Why, oh why, or why did he have to agree to killing Dumbledore?

Severus was a misunderstood man. He had served Lord Voldemort once, but only for a brief time. His half-brother had taken Severus' position, and Snape had seen no benefit to himself if he continued to serve the power-hunger old coot.

Sifting through a few papers mindlessly, he extracted the paper of Harry Potter. He could feel the boy on the page, his presence looming in the back of the black-haired professor's mind. Harry Potter loathed him, when all Snape really wanted was to protect the boy. He, Minerva, and Dumbledore had all formulated a plan to give the boy a normal year of school, but now with Albus dead and Harry despising Snape, he doubted that their plan would be successful.

"Good evening, Professor Snape," said the polite voice of a female. Snape nearly jumped from his seat, startled by Juliana Raven's sudden appearance.

He looked up to meet her icy gaze, his old thoughts suddenly tangling in ones of how elegant and beautiful she looked.

"Miss Raven," he replied quietly, his voice slightly sinister. He simply refused to address her as professor. She was not a part of his, Minerva, and Dumbledore's plan, so he could carry on with his merry ways and criticize all those who did not apply to it. Polite to Harry Potter, plain old Snape to the rest of the world.

"How are you this evening, Mr. Snape?" she replied serenely, sitting in a chair across from him. He was surprised by this action. Normally no sane person would willing sit across from Severus Snape in his domain at night. Also, who in their right mind would address him as Mister Snape?

"At the time, pleasantly surprised," Snape muttered under his breath. He looked at the papers before him, the girl's blue gaze too intense for him. If he had kept his focus on her face, he would have seen a small smile form on her lips in reflection to his quiet response.

"I just wanted to thank you again for lending me your sage today, and I felt it necessary to return what was left," she said, setting a container on the table. Severus didn't move. "We won't be using it in our potions for the next week or so, and that'll give me enough time to buy my own."

An awkward silence filled the air, but still Juliana did not leave. In fact, though he could not see her, Snape would have sworn that she settled further into her chair.

He was tempted to be rude to her and drive her away, but something held him back. Was it her eyes? Or perhaps her marvelous, silky hair?

A small cough came from his lips, as if he had been trying to break the silence. Usually he was one to enjoy awkward moments, but this was too much for him. He longed for another teacher to walk through that door right that instant.

"Mister Snape, I was wondering if you would be willing to show me the ropes of being a teacher," she said, this time as her own desperate attempt to break the silence.

Snape's mouth dropped open at this comment, for he could no longer hold in his awe of this woman. She was so bold and demanding; she was like himself.

"Well, Miss Raven, I'm not usually the… social type," Snape replied half-heartedly, still avoiding her eyes while staring at the pages of student assignments.

"I can see that, Mister Snape," she whispered, rubbing her hands together and linking her fingers, "and that's why I would like you to show me around. You'll use proper etiquette, you'll be polite, and you'll be brutally honest about certain things. I was never schooled to be a teacher; just taught by one of the best in the world."

Her self-confidence sent Snape into a fit of mental spasms. They would either be the best of companions, or drive each other up the wall.

"Well, I'm afraid I can't agree," Severus said harshly, making with red letters on a paper. "I'm a very busy man, as you can see, and I need to get my personal business taken care of."

"Oh. Well, thank you for the sage," she replied, leaving the room.

Snape sank down in his chair, upset with what he had done. He had just driven the most enchanting woman he had ever met away. What an utter fool. It was obvious to him that she meant nothing other than business, but something about her made him feel as though she was always flirting. Flicking a paper with his finger and laying his head on his desk, he let out a long sigh. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Minutes passed, and still he didn't move. He felt hopeless at the moment, unable to complete the laborious task of grading. Minerva and Albus should have kept him out of their stupid plans all along; now Harry hated him even more than before! Plus, Minerva's thirty second briefing of the new teacher was bugging him. Usually she took more time making decisions! If only he had Juliana's records! Maybe then his cravings for her would cease!

Looking up at his ceiling, he let out a moan.

"Something the matter, Severus?" a voice called through the room. Professor McGonagall stood there, her lips pursed and her hands drawn together at chest level.

"There certainly is, Minerva," he said, emotions bubbling over. "That woman has absolutely no history, and I am very irritated that I do not know who is teaching my students!" he almost shouted.

"As am I, Severus, as I told you earlier. I thought we agreed that we would leave Albus to his merry ways and pray that the coot knows what he's doing," she replied, moving towards him.

"Minerva-" Snape cried, his voice raising a few levels.

"Shh. I don't want the bearded wonder to know where I am," she quieted him, her finger to her lip. His brows furrowed. "I am just as worried about her as you are. She has no papers, no legal documents, and no teaching degree. I want you to find out where she came from," Minerva whispered.

"Me?" Snape asked.

"I trust only you, Snape. I want you to follow her; get close to her and see if she's friend or foe."

Snape quivered at the thought.

"Please? I need to know who she is, and by your outburst, it seems to me that you need to know too," the woman told him.

"I suppose," he replied, trying to hide his glee. He had never been allowed to snoop about a person's past before!

"I'm glad we are understood. Report to me the instant you learn anything, alright. Draw it out of her by force, if you must, just make sure she doesn't remember any of it. Severus, she could compromise the safety of many students in our school. The public believes Albus is dead. We can't lose any others."

"Especially Harry Potter," Snape muttered.

"Certainly not him!" she replied, patting him on the shoulder. "And not a word of this to Albus. I wouldn't want him to think I doubt him, though I do… the old bat…"

"Good night, Minerva," Severus said, turning away from her.

"Good night, Severus."

A/N: Okay, so this chapter sucks, I know. I've been putting it off because I didn't know where I was going, and frankly, it's kind of boring. But now that I've sat back down, gotten the rough sketch out, and reread everything, I'm reading to start pecking away at the keyboard again. I apologize for the bumpy chapter. Not only was I out of touch with it, but the computer shut down halfway through and didn't recover! Tonight I'm going to work out a chapter-by-chapter plan of what's going to happen, and hopefully the next update won't take so long! I can ALMOST promise the rest of the fanfic will be better than this chapter, but if I don't focus… that's why the almost is included!

Happy Fanfic-ing!

The Goddess of Silence