Hi there! Sorry I took so long. That's my fault. Here, I'll just acknowledge the ones who reviewed:

Annika, I'm still grateful to you even with your comments; Tsubome, thanks for taking the time to review, my friend!; Shadow, yes, Severus Snape! Lol…; SaphirePhoenix, hehe…thanks for the review! I hope I'm not disappointing you!; Fallen Dragonfly, thank you! I hope you'll like this chapter too!; and Phantom of a Rose, thank you very much! I'll make sure to read your stories then! I'm sure they'll be interesting!

And to those who put me on their favorites, alerts and C2's, thanks a whole bunch! I hope you'll review too! Though I'm not complaining…

Oh, I edited the title and my summary. I hope that's better.

Disclaimer: Need I say this? It's already obvious that I wasn't the one who wrote that thick volume as the last one of seven! If I was, Severus Snape would be alive…NOOOO!!!!!!!!!! –goes off, crying-

Legends:

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"There are, in every age, new errors to be rectified and new prejudices to be opposed."
-Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

Defying Prejudices: Submerged
By Milky Etoile
Chapter Three: Getting to Know Each Other…or not?

Harrie certainly didn't expect that snarky man to suddenly grab her like that. She already apologized, hadn't she?

Miserable adults.

They had absolutely no right to just suddenly hold her and take her wherever they wanted to.

Well, there was probably her Uncle Vernon but he shouldn't have had the right to do that, even if he had done it for countless times.

Still, no one should be allowed to do that to Harriette Potter or they would suffer the consequences—well, whatever consequences she could possibly afflict on the offender anyway. Maybe she could use that crash course on karate that she had read once on a book...?

Bad idea. She might just end up hurting herself.

Then again, those weren't really the thoughts she was having at the moment. No, of course not.

After all, no sane person would not gape after recovering from the feeling of suddenly being pulled somewhere. Literally.

Harrie shook her head after blinking as she sat on the ground. Looking around, the now very unfamiliar surroundings were still there. It was no mere imagination. She was, it seemed, on the outskirts of some village.

The shock was evident on her features when she finally shoved into her head that she wasn't where she was just a moment before.

Indeed, the sports store wasn't anywhere around. There were no sidewalks, no stoplights, and no vehicles. Gone were the people who walked around in neat outfits. In their places were people who wore the strangest things—battered clothing, pointed hats and what seemed to her like dresses (which some of the men also wore, to her further surprise).

She couldn't believe it. It was like the whole place came out alive from some old movie! Even some of the shops looked like they could actually collapse anytime!

"Potter."

The silky voice made her jump and turn around in bewilderment. She scrambled to get up to her feet. She had almost forgotten about the man who had brought her here...

...wherever here was.

"Do you mind containing your foolish expressions so we can move on?" He was sneering at her again. Harrie's wonder suddenly turned to anger.

"Who gave you the authority to order me around?!" she spat at him. "I don't even know who the hell you are!" She didn't notice the passers-by that glanced in their way briefly before making their way to wherever they were going.

Snape tutted. "Language, Potter," he said in a low yet clear tone. "It would do you know good to be foul-mouthing a teacher in the school you would be studying in." Harrie glared daggers at the man.

"Why should I give respect to someone I don't know?! You suddenly kidnap me then you—" Her green eyes widened in surprise (again) when she registered what he had said in her mind.

"What the hell did you mean by 'a teacher in the school I would be studying in'?! How do you know what school I'll be going in?" This time, some of the passing people actually stopped to look at the unusual dark-haired pair. Snape snarled in annoyance, glaring at anyone who dared to look longer at them than two seconds. When the people soon decided to ignore them, he turned to glower again at the girl.

"Look, Potter," Harrie involuntarily flinched at the tone he used when he pronounced her last name, "I have no time to waste in filling that empty brain of yours with knowledge now. I will gladly wait for you to enter my classroom and see if you can even pick up the slightest information in my tutelage."

Harrie, not knowing what to say, only blinked at the man. It made Snape prevent himself from rolling his eyes.

"Just...follow me!" With that, he turned on his heel and stormed off, not even glancing back to see if the girl was following him.

Well, he didn't need to anyway. Harrie felt it was the only thing she could do at the moment so she reluctantly did.

That was why, not only seconds later, the young girl found herself failing in repressing a gob-smacked expression to appear on her face. Everything they had passed was all just so...magical.

At that, she couldn't resist herself from hitting herself in the head, making Snape raise an eyebrow at her when she did not realize she had stopped in her tracks. She only smiled sheepishly at him though as she hurriedly caught up to him. When the dark-haired man turned and continued leading their trek, she proceeded to hit herself on her head again a couple more times with her fist, this time not pausing in their walk.

She shook her head at what she had thought of moments ago. Magical? Honestly? She should've known better than even think of magic. After all, her aunt and uncle had all but mentioned the word 'magic'. It was a quite literally unspoken agreement in the Dursley household that no one was to mention the 'm'-word. Anyone who did became the recipient of death glares, though in Harrie's case, mistreatment.

The girl shuddered at the thought. She didn't even want to recall any of the time she had spent with her family anymore. She wanted nothing more than forget they even existed, just as they had defied her of her proper existence in their home.

"Miss Potter, if you keep on trailing behind, I will not be able to save you from any creature that may want to make you their supper tonight."

That clipping tone made Harrie snap out of her stupor. She took a moment to register what he meant by that only to realize it the next when she heard the definite squawk of some bird that flew through the leaves. Turning to her side, she concluded that flying creature must've been predatory. After all, everything that was probably in that forest had to be predatory. The clump of trees almost made her cringe. That was enough for her to resolve in keeping herself from sidetracking any longer.

She couldn't help herself from gaping though when the odd pair came in front of a humongous castle that, Harrie suspected, probably held kings and their courts and whatever else might be related to hierarchy. It was only when Snape called her attention again that she followed him inside.

Well, if she had thought the outside looked magnificent, she couldn't even think up of any more words to describe how the interior looked like. The walls, pillars and staircases, though evidently old, gave a feel of majesty to her. She was even more awed, if not startled, when she was looking at the portraits they passed.

"Sir!" she immediately called to the man that had been leading her. She pointed incredulously at one of the portraits with one hand and clutched the railing of the staircase they were on with the other. "Th-the portraits!!! They move!" The woman in the said portrait, who was blonde and was wearing a black dress, looked particularly appalled by her action.

"Excuse me?" the woman asked in a haughty voice, which made Harrie jump again and gasp.

"It talks too!" she squeaked in a small voice. Snape's expression, which had turned half-amused and half-annoyed, changed back to his usual sneering one.

"Potter, as interesting as your plight might be, I would rather we move on so I can leave you with someone who can kindly explain to you some things you should get into that small brain of yours." With that, the Head of the Slytherin house turned back again and continued towards their destination.

That made Harrie momentarily forget what had happened just seconds ago. She followed the man, glaring daggers at his back as they moved on. Snape looked back suddenly, regarding her with a raised eyebrow again. She looked away though a split second before he had the chance to look at her. When she let her eyes wander to look back at him, she put only an expression that clearly asked, 'What?'. That had him glare at her again and continue on. She stuck out a tongue behind his back and had to look away again when he turned back. She didn't miss the voices from the portraits that were obviously stifling snorts.

They were spared from any other glaring contests though when the Potions Master stopped in front of two gargoyle statues. Harrie, who had been glancing around again, didn't realize they had arrived and bumped his back. Snape shot her a glare again. She mumbled a soft, "Sorry," before he turned back to the statues.

"Candy floss," he said in a low tone that Harrie noticed was laced with some contempt. Before she could even raise an eyebrow at him though, the two gargoyles sprang into life, leaping aside for them to pass. She had to stop herself from resembling a fish again when she was shortly pulled onto a stone staircase, which promptly started moving as if it were an escalator.

"Woah," was the only thing she said. Snape snorted at that, making her turn to him again to shoot him another glare. Before she could say anything else though, they stopped at the wooden door. The potions teacher was about to knock when a soft voice called out from inside.

"Come in, Severus." Harrie thought she heard the dark man mutter an obscenity under his breath but she wasn't so sure.

She didn't have the time to ponder at that because when he opened the door, she was met with the coziest place that she could ever have been into. She didn't even realize she had still been following Snape as she gazed around the room. It was even more magical than everything else she had seen so far. She managed to prevent her own fist from reaching her head again. She looked around again, not bothering to listen to whatever conversation was taking place.

The room was filled with the most unusual trinkets. There were things that moved by themselves like that weird mirror at one corner and there were far too many shiny objects for her liking. She blinked when she caught sight of the most magnificent creature she had ever seen.

"Wicked," she managed to gasp out when she approached the great red bird whose feathers seemed to be fire itself. It sat on its perch with its head turned towards her, looking as if it was scrutinizing her with its beady-eyed gaze. It let out a trill a moment after they started a staring contest. Harrie almost jumped at that before she relaxed. Somehow, she figured that the bird liked her. Well, the feeling was reciprocated anyway. She felt that she could trust the creature anytime.

"Miss Potter?"

Snape had tried as hard as he could not to strangle the girl. The nerve of her, taunting him! If he weren't as curious as he was, he could've just used the insolent girl as a test subject to his experiments…

Bad thoughts. Very bad thoughts. Though he really wouldn't mind.

Erm. Back to the situation at hand.

"Albus," he said in almost a growl when he reached the Headmaster's desk, "You will tell me why this—" he sneered, "—girl has the scar and claims to be the savior of the wizarding world or I will find a way to make you suffer for the rest of your life that you'd wish to be sent to Azkaban instead!" He glared at the old man for good measure.

Unfortunately for him, his threats didn't work with Dumbledore. Heck, they never did!

The old man had caught sight of the young girl trailing after the Potions Master. He sighed in relief. At least she was safe. Turning back to the dark-haired professor that had kindly brought her, he smiled, his blue eyes twinkling at full blast. Snape had to resist the urge to flee for whenever Albus Dumbledore's eyes twinkled like that, something was bound to be up.

"Severus," he said patiently, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to make you wait a bit longer for this. Rest assured though that I will answer your questions, as thanks for your efforts." Snape felt like groaning but held it in favor for something else.

"Do you mind if I have my cloak back?" he grounded out, trying to keep the impatience from his voice. The old man merely chuckled and reached below his desk for something. He held the black material out for the Potions Master.

"Of course not, my dear boy."

Snape only grabbed the cloak and put it on, turning away from the annoying Headmaster. He couldn't bear to be under his gaze for a long time, despite him being able to take the brunt of the Dark Lord's anger—

—wrong thought. Why was he musing like this now?

He didn't notice that Dumbledore had gone from his seat to go near the young girl. He felt anger bubble in him at the reminder of his school nemesis. The girl was just as insolent! Honestly…Potters…

"Miss Potter?"

The dark-haired girl jumped some inches above the floor before she turned around, getting into a sloppy karate stance (learning only from a book is NOT good). When she blinked and looked up to the one who called her, she shook her head when she thought she saw a weird old man. She blinked again and realized that it hadn't been an illusion.

"Er...yes?" she said uncertainly. She didn't know how she was supposed to act around an old man who was dressed in some weird outfit that had a star pattern on it. He had a pointed hat that matched his clothes along with half-moon-shaped spectacles that didn't even cover his eyes that seemed to dance in amusement. Now Harrie was certain that this man came out straight from the TV screen. He looked like one of those magicians that she had seen Dudley eye longingly when it was close to his birthday! Even the snarky man that had taken her was nowhere near close to this...unusual, um, creature.

She cocked her head to the side when she noticed then that the man that brought her here was now seemingly even angrier (if it was even possible from the many words she had used against him). She blinked when she saw that he now wore...a black cloak? Did the guy worship the darkest color or what?

"I believe," the gray-haired man started in an amused voice that was laced with a bit of...relief? "That you are wondering why Professor Snape has brought you here?"

Harrie regarded the man a bit as she comprehended his words. He seemed kind enough in contrast to the guy who...wait, his name was Snape? Wasn't that some guy in a history book she had read?

She had to fight down a snicker and ended up making a weird choking noise. "Uh...yes, sir. I was wondering why..." She paused as she looked towards Snape with another menacing glare, which he gladly returned. She shook her head when he tore his gaze to look elsewhere. "I was wondering why he suddenly grabbed me like that." She resisted the urge to glare again. She really had to get down that newly becoming habit. The man, though, looked even more amused, if it were possible. His eyes were starting to get too bright that she was positive they could become stars already.

"Ah, yes. I am sure he does not mean that," he said with a chuckle, earning himself one of those dangerous looks from the dark-haired man. "He was quite surprised, that is all." Harrie raised an eyebrow at that.

"Surprised, sir?" she repeated, not quite understanding what he had meant. How could he have been surprised when he had been the one who did all the wonders so suddenly that she was having a bit of a hard time letting her brain catch up to all that she had been seeing. Maybe she was only dreaming?

The young girl kicked herself mentally. Why hadn't she thought of that before?

"Now, why don't you take a seat before I start my explanation? I think we might take some time too." The oddly outfitted old man walked back to his desk then gestured towards a comfortable-looking seat by it. "Severus, why don't you stay as well?" The Potions Master only grumbled and took a seat that had suddenly appeared five feet away from Headmaster's desk. Harrie cautiously approached him.

"Sir...I'm sorry but..." Her expression turned the slightest bit suspicious. "Who might you be? And where is this...weird place?" It hadn't dawned to her before to ask the questions before that she had to inwardly smack herself again. The old man smiled at her.

"Miss Harriette Potter," the Headmaster's use of the name made Snape flinch (at least they weren't looking in his direction), "My name is Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of this school. You are currently in Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

A small part of Harrie's mind was shouting that flies would come entering her mouth if she didn't shut it. Well, she ignored it. She couldn't help but gape at what he had said.

"Hog—what?!"

To be continued...
I'm sorry! I just had to cut it there! And I'm sorry I took so long to post this. I've actually already done this a month ago! Honestly…well, I'll just move on to some explanations.

Firstly, to Annika, as to why the Dursleys kicked her out, you'll either have to figure it out for yourself or wait until I spell it out for you, my dear. I assure you, there IS a reason.

Secondly, to Annika (the only one who's brave enough to ask questions), as to Snape's Disapparating, I'll just say that there are charms surrounding the Leaky Cauldron and that I'm sorry I failed to mention that they were directly in front of it. I'm not sure what stores are beside it so I just made up the sports store. Sorry 'bout that.

See? I told you I'd answer your questions, didn't I? If I didn't say that, then I'm saying it now: I will answer your questions if you've got any. At least, as long as they don't reveal my plot. I'm not so stingy as to ignore my great reviewers, you know. I even welcome suggestions! So if you've got any, don't hesitate to mention them! They'll be a great help!

Thanks again to the reviewers! I'm forever grateful to you! I hope you were happy with this chapter too, enough to review again!

Well, I'll be leaving now. I'll make sure to update faster. I've gotten down the next chapter anyway…see you then! Take care!

Milky signing out!

This chapter was revised and posted on August 4, 2007.