Summary: Salene Snape transfers to Hogwarts after she runs away from her parents. Immediately, she catches the eye of Sirius Black. However, she refuses to like him because of his immaturity and...she doesn't want to just be another one of his one week flings. When Professor Carter, the DADA professor, finds out Durmstrang didn't teach defense, she assigns Black to tutor her, because he is the best student. And that is when it all begins. It would be easier, of course, if her cousin Severus wasn't breathing down her neck all the time. In this chapter, Harry, Hermione, and Ron try to find out what happened between Sirius and Salene.
Pairings: SB/OC RL/SS JP/LE
Feedback: ALL feedback is appreciated, as long as it is not needless flames. Those you can keep to yourself.
Rating/Warnings: This is M (R) for language, romance, and torture. The romance in this story, however, does not pass a light PG-13, if that. Mainly you have to watch out for language and torture/abuse.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: This story, as far as I know, is only halfway or so to being finished. It is my baby, and no matter the feedback I think I will always love this piece. The only reason I posted the Prologue is to see what kind of response I might expect and to put out the notice that I am seeking a beta for this story. If you're interested (plot, grammar, or both - any is perfect with me) or need more information, feel free to e-mail me. My address should be on my profile, but just in case it is kaleidascope underscore prettycolors yahoo . com, without the spaces.
Potter no longer had the look of a carefree youth. He was still sickly thin, but had shot up a more than a foot and he towered over nearly everyone with an imposing air. His eyes were constantly stormy and brewing, prone to darkening in defiance or growing several shades lighter in worry. They peered in from your own eyes, searching your soul and leaving you with barely a scrap of self-respect, at least for a few quivering moments of fear when it was not the Boy-Who-Lived that stood before you but Harry Potter, an unfortunate man who had seen Voldemort and lived; five or six times over.
But the changes were not only physical. He was reluctant to engage in conversation, and preferred to dwell in the shadows of his common room or library. Where before Hermione had sought comfort in books - she then found the comfort in Ron's arms - it was Harry who studied helplessly, plugged all of his energy into the bound parchment, expecting and receiving nothing in return.
And the only time a shadow of the old Harry showed, was when he shuffled into the dungeons for Occlumency lessons, glaring purposely at the floor. However, he had improved greatly in Occlumency because he knew fighting Voldemort was more important than a hatred felt for an - supposed anyway - ally. Especially after he had nearly lost Sirius.
"You've been practicing, Potter?" Professor Snape asked in his usual greeting. Harry nodded reflexively. "Well...get ready. Legilimens." Harry could barely clear his mind and heart before he was reliving a particularly nasty memory of his childhood. Two of Dudley's friends pinned his arms behind him, and around a tree trunk, while Dudley beat him furiously, a ring clearly glinting from one of his sausage fingers and eventually dislocating Harry's shoulder, among other things.
Then, he was throwing the spell back at Snape, and he was inside his professor's mind. At the blurry edges of the memory, he felt Snape's surprise, and his inability to pull away. Then Harry's full attention was sucked into the memory, somewhat like a pensive.
"You were good in bed, and you believed all those pathetic lies I spilled. But now I'm through playing games, Black. You - me - we're over." The speaker, who was making quite a scene in the Great Hall, was a young woman around seventeen or eighteen, with waist length black hair and glittering sapphire eyes, though they were unnaturally free of emotion. Her skin was eerily pale, but it only set off her eyes more. She was not especially pretty, but not exactly ugly. Professor Snape - only, he was younger there, hair still stringy and nose still hooked - stood next to her, watching the unfolding scene with a curiously delighted expression.
"Salene...you can't mean this. We've broken up before, and we'll get through it." Sirius sounded desperate as he spoke.
"Did you honestly expect I, pureblood Salene Candace Snape, would stay with a low-life, blood-traitor such as you? You are hardly fit to lick my shoes clean." Salene, apparently, sneered, casting venomous looks at James and Remus. There were several moments of silence and for the briefest of moments there was a flicker of many emotions - pain, disbelief, anger - on Salene's face. Then the cold indifference settled back on as Sirius jumped from his seat and sprinted out of the Great Hall.
"Potter," Snape growled as Harry blinked, finding himself suddenly on his hands and knees, "get OUT."
"But - sir, who-"
"Out, I said," he snarled, taking hold of Harry's robes and throwing him out into the corridors. Harry, disoriented and sure he would have a few bruises the next day, stood to his knees. After a careful self-check up, he hurried out of the dungeons,a glint of the old Harry back as he began searching for Hermione and Ron. As soon as he had them assembled and filled them in on what had happened, they made their way to Dumbledore's office.
"Harry," Hermione said in a careful tone as they stopped, "do you know the password?" he shrugged and shook his head for an answer before beginning to spout all the candy names he could think of, Muggle and Wizard alike. "Harry," she began once more, voice even gentler. "Why is this important? Don't you think Sirius has is entitled to privacy?"
"Of course," he sighed, running a hand through his already ragged hair. "I'm not asking to pry into his business. I'm asking because I found out the name of our Charms teacher next year, and guess who it is?" Ron looked confused, but Hermione's mouth dropped into a perfect 'o' of surprise.
"Harry...if she dated Siruis, she's bound to have known Remus and I-"
"Who was bound to know me?" All three jumped out of their skin at the familiar voice of their History of Magic professor.
"Professor Lupin," Harry said, his entire being steeled for any negative reaction, "what do you know about our new Charms teacher?"
"New?" he asked, fiegning confusion. "I thought Flitwick has always taught you three."
"Professor," Hermione sighed. "This is very important to Harry...to all of us." Remus sighed.
"How did you find out about her?"
"Snape's memories," he answered immediately. The three friends frowned out of confusion when the older werewolf went pale and took a step back.
"You didn't happen to see anything else, did you?" Harry shook his head mutely and he visibly healthened, seemingly out of relief.
"Well, then, I have no business telling you three anything. Let's go see if Professor Dumbledore will allow you to floo to the headquarters for a short visit." He nodded and followed his professor up the winding staircase, not noticing his friends stayed behind.
