The sorting ceremony had ended and Dumbledore approached his podium to give the beginning of term announcements. Dahlia was sat between Severus Snape and Lockhart with Professor McGonagall on the blonde's right side. The headmaster's niece leaned in almost overly excited for him to announce her name. She hadn't been this excited since she was a first year and next to be sorted. Gilderoy sat back and admired the girl much to the irritation of Professor Snape. He hadn't liked Lockhart since he met him and the blonde professor furthered his annoyance by being appointed to DADA and now leering at the headmaster's niece.
"We have a few change in staff announcements, first the Defense Against the Dark Arts position has been filled by a remarkable Wizard whose achievements are significant, Gilderoy Lockhart."
There was applause and a few scattered lovesick sighs as he stood and preened like a peacock. Dahlia looked at him in a strange wonderment and smiled at the fanfare he received. Their eyes locked for a moment and he pulled the lilac haired girl up with him, "If I may headmaster?" he asked as Albus was about to introduce his niece. He gave way to Lockhart pulling the girl front and center.
"Thank you for your generous applause," he gave a gleaming and toothy smile, "however I will not be teaching alone, your charitable headmaster has allowed me to borrow his brilliant and gorgeous niece, Daisy Dumbledore as my teaching assistant."
"It's Dahlia," Albus corrected and continued cutting off the astonished whispers, "Yes, Dahlia has taken a teaching assistant role in hopes one day she will be a professor herself."
Dahlia waved meekly, she wasn't used to all the attention and now she was introduced as the headmaster's niece, what would they think of her? She gave a slightly concerned look to Albus who in return smiled, putting a slight ease to her concerns that all the attention would get people digging and find out the truth. Lockhart escorted her back to her seat next to him and Snape.
Severus leaned closer to her, "Congratulations," his steady and deep voice rang through her ears, "however I was hoping that you would be assisting in potions as you were always more than adequately equipped," his lips were extremely close to her ear.
The Ravenclaw pulled slightly away from the potions master, "Thank you Professor Snape."
The announcements concluded and the feast started but Dahlia was in a daze. Her gaze stuck on Snape, she had known him outside of Hogwarts, he and Albus were close. He was possibly the only other person, besides Minerva and Fudge, to know her parentage. Her mother was a Veela and her father a very powerful Wizard, but even Dahlia did not know who he was. It was Albus's brother, Aberforth that found her abandoned in Godric's Hollow. It was this child that brought Albus and his younger brother on speaking terms again. Aberforth kept the child raising her as his own and thus making Albus her uncle. It was presumed that both her mother and father had perished during Voldemort's attempt to gain power and control over the Wizarding world.
She knew several members of the Order of the Phoenix, including Snape, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Alastor Moody. She took a real shine to Sirius and Remus, especially when Sirius was in his dog form. Alastor and Snape kept their distance but observed her when she was around Albus. It was one night when Remus and Sirius were collecting intelligence on Voldemort and his Death Eaters when Dahlia and Snape awkwardly bonded. James Potter had a disagreement with Severus and James stormed out. The girl had no idea what the argument was about but it crushed Snape. The young girl, only 8 at the time, sat with Severus and seemed to make the frustration he was feeling fall away. He looked up at her and smiled, it was the first time she had seen him smile. They began an unlikely friendship that had endured the breaking of the Order and through her schooling. She cared for Snape and even though he never showed it to anyone other than Dahlia, he cared for her dearly and was internally enthusiastic that she would be a teaching assistant, even if it wasn't his.