Chapter 2
I was on my way to my first staff meeting. I was a bit nervous being new and wanting to be accepted. It can be especially difficult when filling someone else's long held position. Coming down the hallway I came face to face with the most extraordinary man I'd ever seen. Dressed in black from top to toe, he was tall and pale with long raven black straight hair, dark eyes and a roman nose. His expression was so intense and focused I was mesmerized. The vibrations that surrounded him were extraordinary and I wanted to reach out to him. He passed by me without a word and went into the staff room. After he passed I began to breathe again. Who was that tall dark and handsome piece of man candy? I had to find out.
The room was mostly full when I walked in. He sat alone at the back corner. Perfect, just the spot where he couldn't get away. I took the empty chair next to him and purposely stared at him to get a reaction. Nothing.
"Hello." Still nothing. "You passed by so quickly I didn't get a chance to ask your name. As you can see I'm fascinated. Who are you?"
He finally turned his head and looked at me. His dark eyes so intense, looking at me like a raptor eyeing it's victim. He was trying to silently shoo me away. Little did he know that I found that quality very attractive.
When I smiled in return he spoke. "I am Professor Severus Snape, Potions."
"Nice to meet you Severus. I'm Lydia the new Divination teacher. I hope we… wait, did you say Snape?"
A woman's voice from behind me interrupted. "Yes, Snape, as in, Hermione Snape." I took a deep breath and turned to her smiling and shaking my head. Of course he was taken.
My face was beet red. "Hello Hermione. My apologies. If you'll both please excuse me." I stood and moved to a chair a few rows up. When I looked back they were both glaring at me. I chuckled and turned to Minerva who was just starting the meeting.
"We have a few things to discuss, but first I want to introduce our new Divination professor, Lydia Thornwood. Would you come forward dear." There was light applause as I came to the front.
"Thank you Minerva. I would like to say that I am honored to be at Hogwarts. This place is legendary in the magical world and I feel very privileged to join you. As you can tell from my accent I'm from America. We do things a little differently there. I'm used to calling my colleagues by their first names and it will be a difficult habit to break. Please forgive me if I offend, it is always meant with respect. You may also find me a bit blunt. I was raised to be open and honest, and assertive. You may ask me anything you like. I have a wicked sense of humor and do not take offence easily. I hope to get to know all of you very well."
I turned back to Minerva. "Thank you Lydia." I nodded and returned to my seat.
Minerva droned on with the rest of her agenda. Mostly routine stuff except for a mention of somewhere call Hogsmeade. As low man on the totem pole I was apparently to be a chaperone. "I will require someone to go with her and show her the ropes. Any volunteers?" As the room was very quiet I almost thought I may have offended the whole school already. "Very well as there is no response, then I will choose Professor Hermione Snape to go." The smile on Minerva's face was almost frightening. The moan that came from Hermione was distressing. I flinched but grinned. It gave me more time to learn a little about her and her husband. There was so much more to that man than he allowed anyone to see. I could study the color patterns in his aura for hours.
oopOqoo
The class with first and second years went well. They are so malleable and accepting at that age. Third and forth years had a bit more push back. At that age they are all about rebellion and hormones. Seventh years are just discovering who they are and their place in the world. Looking ahead to their NEWT's and the lives they will have after school, makes it hard for them to focus on the now.
I gave them all the same speech I did the 5th and 6th years. I lost a few more but was delighted that the rest had a bit of enthusiasm. There were no major problems with any of them. The younger ones are tickled not to wear robes. The older they get the more they act as if they've lost their armor and are uncomfortable without them. I have to crack these skulls open and push in some fresh air.
Their first essays were to be on the origins of religion and philosophy. They were to choose a topic and write whatever they liked about it. There were no length restrictions. I needed to find out where each student was on the ambition scale. After the first week I was exhausted, but I think I made some headway. Time would tell.
oopOqoo
The other professors were very friendly and interesting. I only saw Severus and Hermione for more than a few seconds at meals. I knew I had gotten off on the wrong foot with both of them and tried to find a way to apologize. I was glad when the Hogsmeade trip came.
"Hermione I want to apologize to you and Severus." Sparking up a conversation on the way there. "You both seem to be avoiding me so I believe I must have offended you."
She had a look of forced innocence on her face. "No, no. Of course not."
I smiled at her attempt. "Look I'm sorry, I didn't know he was your husband. You have nothing to worry about. Poaching is not my style. He is a fascinating man and I would like to get to know him better as a subject of study, but nothing more." She looked at me like I had lost my mind to say such a thing. "Hermione, he's been touched by true darkness. It's all over him, I've never seen anything like it."
She stopped and looked at me angry and ready to defend her man. "How dare you say that! What do you know about it. He's not dark, he's a hero."
I sighed, "Too blunt? I'm not handling this very well, am I? I didn't say he was dark, actually think quite the opposite. I said he's been touched by darkness. Hermione I know you think the metaphysical realm is, what did you call it, drivel. But I can prove to you what I see. Will you let me show you?" I could tell that her first instinct was to tell me what I could go do to myself, but then her curiosity got the better of her. "How?" Smiling I gestured to a large rock we could sit on and turned to her.
"The universe is made of an infinite number of energy fields in different wavelengths. Some of those wavelengths are easily accessed by everybody and some are not. You need to be trained how to find them and operate within them. These wavelengths can tell you just about everything you want to know about anything, by how they are absorbed or repelled. Much like light waves in the eye. We see colors because the light waves bounce off an object and strikes out eyes, stimulating the optic nerve and perceived by the brain as color. I have developed a portion of my brain to be stimulated by other types of energy than light. Does that make sense?" Hermione thought for a moment and then shook her head in agreement. I was pleased she didn't just reject it outright. I knew her analytical mind needed a more scientific explanation.
"Are you willing to do a short experiment with me?" She was suspicious but willing to try. "What do you want me to do?"
"First I want you to close your eyes and breathe with me. In through your nose hold to three then release slowly through your mouth." Her eyebrows turned down as if I were daft or going to do something nefarious. "Please try." It was hard for her to let go. "Hermione, I'm muggle born. When I first found out I was a witch, this whole world seemed to be filled with the impossible. Surly there is enough room in this impossible world for what I do. Don't you think?"