I'm back! I hope you enjoy this new chapter, which includes a little Snape scene at the end.
Andromeda banged her ever-present gavel on the table. "Alright, we're going to start by taking attendance. I am here. Ted Tonks?"
"Present," Ted said, lifting his hand up in a wave.
"Narcissa Malfoy?"
"I was kidnapped from my house by a very eager House elf. This is pointless," Narcissa stated.
Andromeda ignored her. "Lucius Malfoy?"
"Would rather be facing the Dark Lord," Lucius grumbled.
"Kreacher?"
"Kreacher is here," the house elf said seriously.
"Dobby?"
"Dobby is present and ready to help defeat the Bad Snake Lord!" Dobby exclaimed.
"Thank you for your enthusiasm, Dobby," Andromeda beamed. "Horcrux?"
All eyes looked towards the center of the table, where a small silver locket sat innocently.
"Evil Snake Necklace from Master Regulus is here," Kreacher said.
"Alright, first order of business!" Andromeda cried, banging her gavel on the table again. "Any ideas on how to destroy the locket? No one? Fine, let's sweep the house again for anything else dark."
Angels
"Can we take roll call each meeting?" Destiny asked eagerly.
"Absolutely not," Fate said, rolling her eyes.
"I think it's a great idea," Death chimed in.
"You would," Fate muttered under her breath.
Angels
The encounter with the troll had the side effect of Hermione becoming Professor Snape's biggest fan. Along with Draco and Harry, who were grateful that the Potions Professor hadn't let their cousin/sister die, they adopted billowing black robes Andromeda had sent them and followed the Professor around like little ducks. From the moment he set foot in the Great Hall, Severus Snape had three little shadows, each dressed like him and mimicking his expressions. After the first five minutes, Professor Snape had yelled at the young trio, but they had just grinned back in response, Hermione going so far as to hug her new favorite professor. She had lost twenty five house points for the stunt, but had gained two admirers herself in the Weasley Twins, who had deemed anyone who would dare to hug Snape their new hero.
"Gah! Do you not have class?!" the frustrated Professor screamed as his three ducklings followed him out of the Great Hall.
"We have your class, Professor!" Hermione chirped, bouncing up and down as she followed him down the halls.
"Lucky me," Professor Snape said dryly.
Harry, Hermione and Draco followed the man to the Potions classroom, where they immediately sat down at the front desks. They took out their parchment and quills and set up their desks, before staring eagerly at Snape as they waited for class to start.
Blaise Zabini arrived a few minutes later as the rest of the class began trickling in, and took the empty seat next to Draco. "Why are we staring at Snape?" he whispered to the blonde.
Draco smirked at the Italian. "He's Hermione's new hero," he whispered back. "Haven't you heard?"
By the end of the day, Professor Snape's entourage had grown.
Angels
"I can't believe there was a freaking Horcrux in the house a freaking Horcrux why in Merlin's name would it be in the house," Andromeda ranted furiously once the situation had set in, wringing her hands as she paced back and forth in the dining room.
"Don't forget a list of what Regulus thought the rest would be," Ted added.
"The Dark Lord made seven Horcruxes," Narcissa said faintly, sitting at the table with a glass in front of her. Lucius replaced it with a darker colored liquid.
"Reggie died for this," Sirius said softly, staring into nothingness. "He-he wasn't a Death Eater."
Lucius stared at the three items on the table. A priceless locket, a well-thought out list, and a battered diary, one that he had retrieved from his house moments prior. Lucius cursed loudly.
"If your father wasn't dead, I'd kill him myself," Narcissa muttered under her breath. Sirius heard and chuckled darkly.
"I'll help."
"I can get the one out of Gringotts," Andromeda said suddenly. "Bella- I'm her primary contact. I can access her vault."
"Isn't one of the Weasleys a curse breaker?" Ted asked, his brow furrowed. "You could see if he'd take a look at the shack that Regulus thinks one is hidden in."
"I'm not sure we want to bring more people in on this," Sirius frowned.
"I agree," Lucius cut in. "But if we are, we should find someone other than a Weasley."
Andromeda rolled her eyes. "You never learn," she muttered. "Could we get Nymphadora to get the one in Hogwarts?"
"I don't even know what the Come and Go Room is," Sirius shrugged. "And I know most of the school."
Angels
Destiny turned to Death, a thoughtful look on her face. "How many Weasleys are there again?"
"Too many to count," Death shuddered. "I don't know how their parents do it."
Angels
Flying lessons for the first years came and went, with both Draco and Harry having to help Hermione on the broom. The brunette was scared of heights, and it took most of the lessons for her to be comfortable flying three feet above the ground. But while she wouldn't be playing Quidditch anytime soon, Madam Hooch declared Harry a natural, and recommended that he try out for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.
"Are you going to?" Draco asked in a hushed voice. "I mean, first years don't play on Quidditch teams. Ever!"
"They already have a seeker," Harry argued. "Plus, I prefer flying. Not Quidditch."
"You're mental," Draco shook his head. "Quidditch, Harry, Quidditch!"
That was how they learned that Hufflepuff had two Quidditch teams - a regular team, and a reserve team. First years were allowed on the reserve team, which existed mainly to work on the younger students' flying skills. Then, when it came time to replace a graduated player, they would have already-trained flyers ready to go. Even more so, Hufflepuff had open practices once a week, where every Puff was welcome to join and help train their Quidditch team. Prospective chasers and keepers would practice against the quidditch team, while Beaters worked on accuracy and Seekers practiced flying maneuvers.
This was a Hufflepuff secret, and one of the few things Harry kept from Draco. He did tell Hermione, though, since the girl had no interested in Quidditch and would probably mess up the terms if you asked her about them anyway.
"Quidditch is stupid," Padma Patil said, sitting down next to Hermione. The two girls watched the boys debate.
"Yup," Hermione agreed. "150 points for a tiny ball? And flying cannons that hurt people?"
"Honestly," Padma nodded. She pulled out a book, the twin to Hermione's.
Draco and Harry stopped their argument long enough to notice that no one was paying attention to them. "Hermione!" Draco said impatiently. "Tell Harry that he should play Quidditch."
"Harry, play Quidditch," Hermione said distractedly. She didn't look up from her book.
"Tell Draco that Quidditch isn't everything," Harry countered.
"Quidditch isn't everything," Hermione repeated, before turning her full attention to her Charms textbook.
"See, Hermione agrees with me," Harry said triumphantly.
"Hermione agrees with anything when she's reading," Draco argued. "Look. Hermione, want to come flying with me later?"
"Sure."
"There," Draco said smugly, sticking his tongue out at Harry. Harry scowled.
Angels
Severus Snape muttered darkly to himself as he stalked the halls, hoping to take points off of dunderhead Gryffindors. "If I didn't know better, I'd say Black put them up to that. Following me around for hours? Five points from Gryffindor," he called to a shadow, ignoring the protests of "But I'm in Ravenclaw!" "And getting the Weasley twins as well. I thought Draco at least had some sense. And Zabini, he seemed smart. But now he's been corrupted by Granger and Potter. Potter, though, is very much like Lily. Bones was to be expected, she is a Hufflepuff. 10 points from Gryffindor!" he said, roughly banging on a cupboard door. A girlish shriek echoed through the air, followed by a male voice cursing.
Severus snickered to himself as he continued on his rounds. He would have to write to Andromeda Tonks and tell her to call the posse off. He respected the woman, who was one of the top potioners when he was in school. How she could raise a girl as clumsy as Nymphadora Tonks was beyond him, although she did have the Black metamorphmagus trait.
He stalked around a corner and sent two Hufflepuffs back to their common room, making sure to assign them a detention each. He would have to find something for them to do. The Gryffindors earlier had cleaned all the cauldrons already. Maybe reorganizing his stockroom? His Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw third years had left it in quite a mess. Yes, that was what they would do. Severus finished his rounds and returned to his rooms, pulling out a roll of parchment from his desk. He began a letter to Andromeda Tonks, taking care to use the more formal language his Slytherin parents expected.
Dear Madam Tonks,
I am writing to inform you about one of your wards, Harry Potter. After the events of Halloween night, Mr. Potter, along with a number of his friends, have formed a little group that delights in following me around and proclaiming me their hero. They have been steadily growing in members, and this is their last warning before they face punishments, likely detentions. They have already lost a decent amount of house points, spread throughout all four houses. I beg of you to write to young Mr. Potter and curtail his actions. Similar letters are being sent to the other parents of the ringleaders.
Sincerely,
Severus Snape
Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House
He copied the letter over and addressed it to Lucius Malfoy, adding a small postscript for his dear friend. The Grangers would receive a similar letter, and he deemed Blaise Zabini more of a followers, so he would not write to the Countess Zabini as well. He would sent the letters in the morning, as it would not due for them to arrive well past midnight.
Angels
"Death," Destiny said in a sing-song voice. "Death, Death, Death, Death, Death."
Death groaned and slammed his head onto his desk. "I swear, Destiny, if you had parents, they would be getting a very angry letter right now."
Destiny's only response was to grin and stick out her tongue at the frustrated angel.