Sept 17, 1997
Prof Dumbledore gazed at the two girls sitting opposite him on a suite of squashy chairs set before his desk and contemplated all that they represented. Minister Fudge had admitted the existence of Voldemort but the country was woefully ill prepared for a battle. So Albus had called on every international contact he had to marshal a force of powerful witches and wizards as a vanguard in the coming battle. People streamed into the country at his call, from every country and every walk of life. Two of them were Olivia and John Stewart from America. They were a fairly young couple only in their late thirties and the parents of the girls sitting before him now.
What am I doing, uprooting families to fight in a war not their own?
Fawlkes, his phoenix and companion for over half a century fluffed up his feathers in indignation. While phoenix weren't exactly sentient they were able to read the thoughts of their companions and reacted to them. Apparently Fawlkes was not amused at his maudlin turn of thought. Pulling himself back to the present he looked more closely at the girls. The eldest, Mary Sue was in her seventh year and was a vivacious creature with a slim graceful build, masses of golden hair like a waterfall of silk, and the most startling violet eyes. She was perched on the edge of her chair seemingly perfectly content with the world around her. Dumbledore wondered at her manners. He had worked with children and youths for most of his life and a lack of healthy boredom or interest in the objects around them seemed out of place. He made a mental note to warn the Heads of House that there were likely to be quite a few more cases of puppy love and heart break in the near future. Albus then turned his gaze to the younger girl, Anne. She was only a year younger than her sister but was certainly cut from a different cloth. She seemed much shorter, although it was hard to tell as she was currently slouched down in her chair with a sullen expression darkening her brown eyes. Dumbledore suppressed a smile as he thought of an ebon haired youth that had once sat in that very chair with an identical expression. Although, I doubt that Severus would appreciate being compared to a teenaged girl. Her hair was a uniform light brown and was cut almost boyishly short. Every so often her eyes darted around the assorted paintings, books and devises crammed into his office.
"Well then," the Headmaster said with a kind smile, "I understand that there are no Houses in American schools." Both girls nodded to his statement. "I see, let me explain them. The school is split up into four Houses; Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Each student is sorted into a house based on their most prominent attributes. Your House acts like a family for you while you are in school. It is hoped that being around so many like-minded people will help you make friends and nurture your own natural strengths. Now each student can gain or loose points for their House. The House with the most points at the end of the year wins the House Cup. I'm afraid the most common reason to loose points is rule breaking. Now lets get you both Sorted into your Houses and we will continue from there." He moved to one of the many book shelves around the room and pull out a battered and patched wizard hat. Turning back to the girls with a smile he said, "This is the Sorting Hat and the means be which you will be Sorted. All you have to do it put this on and it will decide which House is best suited to you." Mary Sue's face took on an appalled look before quickly smoothing out to her normal sunny smile. Anne on the other hand was watching her sister and grinning for the first time since entering the Headmaster's office, "Eldest first," she said, her voice bubbling with mirth. Mary Sue shot her a sweet smile that Albus rather thought promised retribution before stepping forward. With a flourish he dropped the hat onto her head where it perched rather jauntily to one side. After a few moments of listening to Anne's badly concealed giggles the hat loudly announced, "Gryffindor!" He whisked it from Mary Sue's head and motioned for her to go back to her seat. With an air of indifference Anne stepped up and had the battered cap placed on her head where it promptly slid over her eyes. Hello there. Annie flinched in surprise at the scratchy voice that sounded in her mind. Um...hi.
Not much for book learning are you? And you rather like your free time. That rules out Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Always trying to outdo your sister, that's interesting. Could be good in Slytherin...Oh ho! Fighting for the little ones at your last school, not behaviour I approve of but Godrick certainly would. Good then, "GRYFFINDOR!"
The last word had been shouted, although how a hat could shout was beyond her. The old Headmaster plucked the hat from her head and replaced it on it's shelf before turning a jolly smile on them both, "Both Gryffindors, wonderful! Now as you are both new I will have one of the students escort you to your dorm rooms. Tomorrow at breakfast your House prefect will bring you your schedules and I will assign someone to show you to your classrooms for a few days until you get your bearings. He indicated for them to follow him down the winding staircase that led from his office. It emptied into a large hallway that was currently packed with students.
Prof Dumbledore looked around for a moment before apparently spying who he was looking for, "Mr. Creevey!" A guy with sandy curls around fifteen or so swerved out of the stream of traffic, "Yes Headmaster?" Dumbledore smiled mischievously, "Collin, this is Mary Sue and Anne Stewart. They have just transferred to Hogwarts and have been sorted into Gryffindor. Could you escort them to the Gryffindor Tower and then take them to the Great Hall for supper?" Collin nodded then paused worriedly, "Sir, I have Potions next and Prof Snape hates tardiness." "Ah yes," the Headmaster nodded sagely with an impish twinkle in his bright blue eyes, "We can't have you late can we? Well as your helping me will most likely take quite a while you are excused from Potions for today. I shall speak with Prof Snape and have a house elf bring your homework to you." Collin grinned hugely and turned towards the two sisters, "Come on, the tower's this way," before starting off down the hall. Mary Sue turned to Prof Dumbledore, "Thank you so much for you're help sir. I hope I'm as wise as you some day." Dumbledore bowed his head at her praise, "Thank you Miss Stewart, it was very good to meet you. I believe Mr. Creevey is impatient to start. Good day then." With that he turned and disappeared behind the gargoyle that hid the entrance to his office.
"So you're from across the Pond, eh?" Collin asked in a fast slightly breathless voice. He seemed to do everything fast, from his speech to the pace he set going through the halls. Annie liked their guide. He hadn't stopped smiling and was constantly pointing out statues and other odd features to help find their way back to the tower next time. "Oh yes, our parents were offered a job at a museum in London, and so we moved," Mary Sue offered distractedly. Her head was turned to look at a group of older students that included two gorgeous guys. Collin nodded his understanding as they mounted a staircase, "You want to be careful of the stairs, they move. This one is usually safe. Only really moves about on Saturdays. I'll have to take some snaps of you for my scrap book. Sorry, what were your names again? I was a bit distracted by not having to go to Potions when Dumbledore told me." Annie trotted around her sister who was now throwing a coquettish glance at the young men. "I'm Annie and the flirt is Mary Sue." Collin slowed for a moment to look back and then shrugged as he returned to his previous ground eating pace, "Don't blame her. That's Malfoy and Zabini, all the girls act like that around them. Of course she is a bit over the top but then she's an American." Annie grinned at Collin's pronouncement even if it did insult her in a sort of backhanded way. It was the first time any guy hadn't fallen under Mary Sue's spell. They finally stopped at a life size painting of a corpulent woman in an eye searing pink flounced dress. "Password?" it asked in a slightly bored voice. Collin turned to Annie and Mary Sue who had finally turned her attention back to their guide, "You have to have the password to get into the tower. It's to keep us from pranking all night," he turned back to the portrait and said, "Unity." With a nod the portrait swung forward as if on invisible hinges to reveal a round doorway opening into a circular den decorated in reds and golds. "Weird password," Annie commented as she looked around the room. It was decorated almost exclusively in shades of gold and red from the faded tapestries hanging from the walls and squashy armchairs littered around the room to the small redwood tables for studying or playing board games. Annie thought it was very, well, English. But it was also homey and inviting. "Yeah, Hermione Granger's the Head Girl this year so she sets our passwords and she's big into House fellowship." Annie collapsed onto a couch and watched her sister flit around the room like an overgrown fairy. "You two had better get your things put away and change into your school robes. Girl's dorms are up the stairs to the right. I'd show you but they're charmed against boys," Collin said with a lascivious grin and comical waggle of his eyebrows. Mary Sue giggled before floating up the staircase to the girl's dorms. Annie got up and followed her sister with a grin to Collin.
"Ow!" Mary Sue cried as Annie crashed into her back. "Why did you stop?" Annie demanded as she picked herself up off the floor. She peered over her sister's shoulder to see a row of seven mahogany doors with matching brass numbers and door knobs. She stared in confusion; she had expected one long room with bunk beds, like in summer camp. "Which room is ours?" she asked stupidly. Mary Sue spared her a roll of her eyes before gliding over to the door directly to their left, "Honestly Annie. There are seven years of school and seven doors there for…" with that she flung the door open with a flourish. Inside was a room with five large four poster beds. One of them had Mary Sue's ornate Teak wood trunk. Mary Sue left the door open while she pulled out her many toiletries. Annie quickly found her own dorm room and, with a glance at her sister's glacial progress, began putting her things away. A picture of her friends from Oregon on a trip to the Japanese Gardens last summer was placed on the bedside table. Then her new school books went on the shelves next to her quiddich trophy and finally her broom was laid safely under her bed. "I can't believe the Sorting Hat was so beaten up. I mean it was a major artifact!" Mary paused as she puller her robes over her head, "I love England!" she commented excitedly as she fastened the golden clasps, "Especially the boys." Annie looked at her sister quizzically. She must have used the Sight to check how magical the ugly old hat was. "What do you think our room mates will be like?" she asked as she pulled her own robe on. Mary Sue shrugged and turned to her makeup, "I'm sure they'll like us. Do you think any of the teachers will be cute?" Annie looked up in alarm, "Mary, don't," she pleaded, "You almost got caught last time. Do you ever even think about what it means to the teacher? He could loose his job if you get caught screwing him." Mary Sue turned to her sister after applying lip gloss, "Oh come on, it was only once! Besides, there are tons of cute guys in my grade. If you're lucky I'll graduate before you have to worry about the virtue of the teaching staff." Annie jammed her feet into a pair of ankle boots angrily and stalked out of the dorms. Isn't it enough that she can see magic? Isn't it enough that she's prettier then me and smarter then me and gets any guy she wants? She barely managed to not slam the door and headed down to the den. Collin was sitting on the arm of a couch tapping his feet on the stone floor, when she came down. "Is your sister still freshening up?" He asked with a grin. Annie shrugged, "I don't know why she bothers. She always looks perfect, even at three in the morning" Annie grumbled. With a mental shake she determinedly changed the subject, "So you take pictures?" Collin grinned and pulled out a small camera, "This is my spare. I keep it with me in case something happens that I want to get on film. Wizard photos are brilliant! They move just like a cinema. Of course I take plenty of Muggle shots too. Sometimes it's the still frames that are the best," with that he snapped off a couple of pictures of Annie, blinding her with the flash. Finally Mary Sue gracefully descended the stairs. Annie took in her sister's appearance and despaired of ever filling out the uniform like that. Collin jumped down from his perch when he saw her and, after taking a couple of pictures of her, led the way back down the many halls at a trot.
Except for the black robed students, the Hall looked like a scene right out of a medieval painting. There were four long trestle tables each with a banner hung above it depicting their house crest. At the front of the hall was another table with the staff seated so they could look down on the students. As they walked in she noticed one teacher, a dower man in all black, shoot a scorching glare at one of the students on the far left who instantly went still and shoved something back into a pocket of his robes. "Snape, Head of House Slytherin. Watch yourself with him, he hates everybody," Collin muttered as the three of them sat at a table beneath a banner of a rearing lion. He quickly introduced them to everyone in earshot at the table. Most of the guys within ten feet of Mary Sue immediately got a glazed look in their eyes. Mary Sue preened under the attention and Annie ignored it as usual. None of those boys had a chance with her sister. Mary Sue may like the attention but she loved a challenge. It was her one weakness and it didn't matter why the guy wasn't fawning all over her. The sad part was that she hadn't lost yet. Every guy she tried for she got. With morbid curiosity she scrutinized the Hall, trying to guess who her sister would go after. The two guys she was ogling earlier were strong possibilities. Unfortunately so was Mr. Snape. He wasn't good looking. Not in the traditional sense but his features gave him a cold domineering presence that Mary Sue would love to break through. Annie watched him for a while. His movements were graceful and efficient. He'd probably be the object of more than one school girl fantasy if it wasn't for that sour sneer that twisted his mouth. What a tight-ass. Annie resolutely turned away from her sister's fan club and the sour teacher to cheerfully answer questions about America from her Housemates. She was delighted when the food magically appeared on the groaning tables although she didn't recognize most of it. One deceptively plain rice dish had her choking and coughing from the fiery spices. Mary Sue didn't seem to be having any problems as she was plied with exotic foods, her laughter ringing out like fairy bells.
"Isn't he gorgeous? Even if he is a Slytherin," the girl on her left, Pravati or something, moaned as she stared across the hall. "Who?" Annie questioned trying to see who Parvati was staring at. "Just the Slytherin Sex God, Draco Malfoy," she answered. "Malfoy, a sex god?" a red headed girl from down the table asked derisively, "Try the world's only living heart donor." Annie looked at the person in question and thought that they were probably both right. He had a slim build, with pale skin and icy blond hair. In his way he was at least as striking as Mary Sue but his eyes were grey and cold like a frozen lake and his mouth held a slight sneer as if nothing could please him. That guy doesn't just state high maintenance, he screams it. Turning away from him, she surreptitiously checked out the rest of her House. They were certainly the most boisterous of the tables with loud chatter and even louder laughing. The only other House to rival them was Hufflepuff who traded jokes freely with her House. After the meal Mary Sue asked her entourage for a tour around the castle and left in a cloud of admirers.
Annie followed the rest of her House up to the tower where she grabbed a steampunk novel and sat in an out of the way corner to read. Annie was lost in the story when someone leaned over the chair, "What are you reading?" Annie held the cover up to the red head who had disparaged Draco Malfoy at dinner and was staring down at her with laughing brown eyes. "Snow," she replied. The girl gave the cover a once over and introduced herself, "I'm Ginny Weasley. I'm in 6th form with you so we're roommates." "I'm Annie Stewart," she returned with a smile. Ginny invited her to a game of Exploding Snaps and they spent the rest of the night playing. After the first hand Collin joined them. Annie told them about her old school, Thornhill High, and her friends there. Both of them thought calling sixth form 'eleventh grade' was weird. She also tried to explain her steampunk novels. Annie wasn't sure how much they understood about the technology used in the books, but both of them asked to borrow her collection. Yawning hugely Ginny and Annie bid good night to Collin and stumbled off to bed.
"Watch out girls, tacky American coming through," a girl with blond pigtails and shiny pink lip gloss on remarked snidely to her friends, "Do you think it's true that American's will fuck anything with legs?" Annie looked up through her lashes while pretending not to have heard the comment. "Who's that?" she asked Ginny beneath the loud hum of the busy hallway. Ginny craned her neck around to see, "Oh, that's Pansy Parkinson, Slytherin. Stay clear of her. She's a nasty piece of work and she's got connections with worse." Annie digested this. She had dealt with people like this back in Oregon. They wouldn't give up until they got bored or intimidated and Pansy obviously thought Annie was easy pickings. She'd probably only get worse after Mary Sue had taken the attention of the male population of Slytherin. After classes were through Annie found Collin in the den and sat down next to him, "Hey Collin." "Hi Annie, how was your first day?" he asked as he pasted pictures onto the stiff pages of an album. "Not bad but I have a situation I have to take care of," she answered, leaning forward, "Do you have any pictures of the Slytherins?" Collin raised an eyebrow at that, "Yeah a bit, which ones in particular?" "Pansy Parkinson," Annie stated flatly.
"Nooooo!" a girl shrieked from the Slytherin table. Annie looked straight over at where Pansy sat rooted to the spot turning an unflattering puce. She had just opened a letter identical to the ones that every other student had received that morning. Inside was a wizarding picture of Pansy buttoning up her blouse as she left one of the green houses looking thoroughly snogged. A few seconds later Vincent Crabbe also left the green house. His shirt was miss-buttoned and there were coral pink kiss marks on his neck. Everyone in the Hall was laughing uproariously now. Annie caught Pansy's frantic gaze with a steely glare. With arch significance she looked down at the photo and back into Pansy's eyes. Once Pansy got the hint Annie turned back to her breakfast. Collin leaned over with a smile and muttered, "Brilliant Annie, just brilliant!"
December 1997
"Hey Yank, figure out what a cauldron is for yet?" someone jeered as Annie and her friends walked towards the courtyard for a weekend snowball fight. "Just ignore them," Collin hissed. Annie nodded and grinned at Ginny who was turning red at the jibe, "Come on Freckles. I suck at potions." Ginny nodded but she didn't seem any calmer so Annie tried another tactic, "He'll get it in the end. Look, if I don't get a better grade than everyone in Slytherin on our next test you can beat the tar out of Malven and I won't say a word. Deal?" Ginny finally smiled, "Deal. You'd better study because I can't wait to get my hands around that berk's neck."
Late that afternoon they all came in through a side door, laughing and dripping snow. Oregon didn't really get snow so Annie went out to play in it whenever she could. "I can't believe your aim!" Collin laughed, brushing snow off his arms. "I warned you, two years Chaser for the Thornhill Titans gives you are mean curve ball," Annie replied from behind him and Ginny. She was trying to get chunks of snow and ice out of Ginny's long hair. "Can I say again how jealous I am of your hair?" Annie said. She paused when they all heard a familiar voice bark, "Get out of my way brat," followed by the thwack of something colliding hard with a wall. With a glance at her friends, Annie followed the voice around a corner. Allen Malven stood a few feet away from her with a group of other Slytherins. A first year from Ravenclaw had been shoved into a wall by the older students and was rubbing the back of his head. Annie's blood boiled, he had no right to treat a kid like that! "Leave him alone Malven" she shouted at him without thinking. Malven scowled and stepped forward, "This is none of your business, Yankee. You'd best leave if you know what's good for you." Annie roared in fury and ran straight into him, ramming him over and throwing punches at his stomach and face, "I'll send you to the nurse in pieces!" she screamed. Allen Malven wasn't much taller then her, but he was heavier. He bucked and slammed his fist into the side of her head, rolling to get her off of him. Suddenly the back of her robes were seized and she was pulled bodily off of her adversary. Annie looked over her shoulder and felt all the blood drain from her face as she saw Prof Snape glaring down at her. "Mr. Malven, go to the hospital wing," he said still looking straight at Annie, "Thirty points from Gryffindor for brawling in the halls." "That's not fair!" Ginny cried out, "Malven was picking on a first year-" "And ten more points for unsolicited remarks," he purred in a voice that could freeze blood, "Miss Stewart I believe some time spent in manual exertion should curb your blood thirsty nature. One week's detention starting tonight. I expect you to be at my office promptly at seven o'clock. Dismissed!" Annie sprawled as she was dropped from the Potion Master's grip and watched him stalk away, robes flaring. All of the Slytherins had vacated the hall along with the Ravenclaw who had probably left during the fight. Ginny and Collin helped Annie to her feet while she silently tallied her hurts. Split lip, swollen eye and cheek that were probably going to be pretty colorful by morning, both knees skinned and bloody knuckles on her right hand but no breaks. Annie snuck a look at Malven as he walked past, he had a black eye and split lip but other than that looked disgustingly unharmed. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why do I always have to start fights?
Collin had started them up to the hospital wing when Annie stopped berating herself long enough to notice that Ginny was glowering at her. "What?" Annie asked defensively. "You're as bad as Harry!" she shouted turning slightly red, "You near begged me not to fight with him and the first thing you do when we get inside is try to bash his face in! And you lost us forty points!" "This was different!" Annie cried out, ignoring the fact that she had been thinking almost the same thing only moments ago. "Why, because it was you?" Ginny asked sarcastically. "No because it wasn't me." Annie answered heatedly. Ginny stopped walking, "What?" "Freckles look," she sighed, "I'm sort of a hothead. I don't care what he says about me, it's not like it's anything new. But I just can't let people hurt kids like that. If I don't stop him he'll think he can always get away with that." Ginny sat down on the stairs they had been climbing, "You know you could have just gotten a teacher or prefect...or at least let me hold him down. Wait, what do you mean 'nothing new? I thought you were really popular at your old school." Annie sat down next to her, "With a sister like Mary Sue? Can you even imagine how many times I've been compared to her? She's smarter, prettier, more graceful, friendlier," she sighed, "I just don't like to think about it so when you asked about my old school I just told you about my friends." Annie looked down at her feet as she spoke. She hated talking about this stuff and was afraid that when her new friends found out that she wasn't A-crowd in her old school they would drift away like so many others. "Wow, your something else Annie," Collin said from the stair above the two girls, "You get into a huge row, get caught by Snape, loose forty points for Gryffindor, get detention for a week and don't say a thing. But here you are telling us that some gits at your old school didn't like you are you're all a-tear." Annie shoved him gently, "I'm not crying and it was thirty points. Ginny lost the other ten." Ginny grinned at her friend and shook her head, "It's got to be a girl thing. Six brothers and not one of them ever worried about how popular they were…well except with the lady birds. You realize this changes nothing. I'm still going to beat Malven if I win the bet. "
Collin had successfully broken the tension and they started towards the hospital wing once more. Luckily by the time they got there Malven had already been patched up or there might have been a rematch. Annie told Mrs. Pomphrey that she had fallen down as the nurse tutted over her wounds but quickly fixed them and sent her on her way with a stern admonishment not to 'fall down' again. They walked back to the common room and sat down by the fire. "Rotten luck about the detention," Ginny commiserated. Annie frowned, "It's this damn temper of mine. Now I have to figure out how to do my homework for the next week." Ginny nodded in understanding. Temper was one thing that Ginny knew about intimately. They searched for a topic to discuss that didn't include Snape, Slytherins, fighting or detention. Finally Collin asked, "So who's your sister with now?" "Blaise Zabini," Annie answered with a grimace. Ginny let out a low whistle, "For how long?" "About three weeks. She's been so smug I've been tempted to hit her! The only thing that stopped me is the thought of her falling into a sleeping beauty coma for a week or so only to wake up with a perfect rose shaped scar and a proposal of marriage from Blaise. And of course during her sweet slumber someone would have figured out that she is the only person that can aid Harry in his quest to save the world," she stated in disgust. Ginny and Collin gave her identically baffled looks. "Oh sure scoff now," Annie declared, "but the last time she got hurt it was a twisted ankle that landed her straight into the arms of Jason Brandis, the star seeker on our team." Annie didn't mention that she had had a huge crush on Jason and Mary Sue damn well knew it. Of course Mary Sue had been in tears when Jason had asked her out the first time and had begged for forgiveness from Annie. That was the worst part. It wasn't Mary Sue or Jason's fault but it still pissed her off that it had happened. "The funny thing is, I don't think Blaise is who she's interested in." she said with a frown. "Why not? He's one of the best catches in the school," Collin commented. "You'd know," Ginny said with a grin. Annie just shook her head, unable to explain, "It's just a feeling. She's not acting right. It's like she's still hunting."
They spent the rest of the afternoon studying. With a week of detention Annie needed to get as much of her homework done now as she could. As they put away their books an owl came winging in from the window and landed on the back of Annie's chair. Annie pulled the letter from its leg and quickly read it.
Dear Anne,
Daddy and I are swamped at work and won't be able
to spend Christmas at home so you will need to stay at
Hogwarts for the school break. Mary Sue wrote to say that
she will be staying with a friend from school. We will send
your presents closer to Christmas. I noticed that your
grades haven't improved much. Please spend the time at
school studying and try to stay out of trouble.
Much Love,
Mom and Dad
"What is it?" Ginny asked curiously. "Nothing. Just a note from my parents about studying more," Annie answered before stuffing the letter into the back pocket of her faded jeans. "Fancy sending a letter two weeks before Christmas break?" Collin said and went back to putting his things away.
After dinner Annie sent a weak smile at her friends and headed down to the dungeons. "Come," Prof Snape called at her knock. She entered the richly furnished office and stood before the mahogany desk that dominated it. Prof Snape's eyes bored through her as she tried not to fidget. Swiftly he thrust away from the desk and barked, "Follow me," as he strode into a large store room filled with various bottles and canisters. "You will go through each and every container in this room," he stated as if daring her to protest, "Categorize them alphabetically and check the potency dates. Dispose of anything that is stale." With that he spun around and returned to his desk were he began grading papers. Annie stifled a groan and got to work, ignoring the letter still stuffed in the back pocket of her jeans.
Severus Snape was not a man to suffer fools. Nor did he particularly like cheerfulness or noise. So it was no surprise that he didn't like children. What would have been a great surprise to many was that he loved music. Classical, blues, jazz, rock, metal, techno. He liked almost everything. So he didn't notice when the student currently exorcising her misdeeds began softly singing to herself. Slowly he became aware that he was tapping in time to the rhythm of a song that barely registered on his consciousness. He meticulously finished grading his papers before looking up. Half of the contents of his personal stores were placed on the floor in a haphazard row while Miss Stewart placed the rest of the jars back on the shelves. His keen ears filtered out the sound of jars clinking to catch the words of her song. "On my own, pretending he's beside me. All alone I walk with him till morning…" As she sang she turned each jar so that it sat even with all the others and each label was faced out. With such meticulousness you would think she might be at least passable at potions. "I didn't think anyone of your generation would know a song from Les Miserable," he sneered. Annie's mouth closed with an audible click and a mulish expression before opening again to answer tightly, "I like musicals. I'm sorry if I was bothering you." Generally Severus would reprimand a student for not adding the honorific 'sir' to any statement addressed to him but he was intrigued that she had offered an apology when he hadn't demanded one. With skills he had used more in his role as a spy he quickly analyzed everything he knew about his student. What he came up with was disturbingly Slytherin for someone that was wearing the Gryffindor badge. Other than today's incident she rarely went after her enemies head on. She preferred to humiliate them in some way that couldn't directly be tied to her. Her potion skills were average being neither good enough nor bad enough to warrant special attention and from what the other teachers said she was much the same in her other classes. He knew she had been on the Quiddich team for her previous school yet hadn't even tried out for Gryffindor. He briefly considered his answer, "Your voice isn't quite as terrible as most pubescent youths," he sneered and began to file the marked papers. While he worked Severus covertly watched for her reaction to his words.
"Your voice isn't quite as terrible as most pubescent youths." Annie stiffened at his words and went back to sorting the various bottles and jars. It doesn't matter, she thought fiercely, Just because it's something you love doesn't mean you're any good at it. But it hurt. It hurt to hear that she was no good at singing. It's not like Quiddich. Quiddich is a sport, you're supposed to loose at sports every once in a while. Annie had gotten through another half shelf before she really thought about what her taciturn professor had meant and not what he had said. He hadn't forbidden her from singing and in the three months she had been here she had seen him forbidden almost everything. Actually he had given her a compliment, a backhanded compliment, but still a compliment. Suddenly a grin spread across her face. Until he outright forbad her to sing she didn't see any reason why she shouldn't try to make detention a little fun. With that thought she began humming 'Bedlam Boys' although she didn't quite have the nerve to start singing again.
Severus watched her body language project offense and injured pride and shook his head mentally, a Slytherin would have immediately looked for the hidden meaning. After a quarter of an hour Severus noticed her take on a slightly more thoughtful pose and shy a glance at him. He could almost see the picture click into place in her mind. A few minutes later she began to quietly hum a folk tune. Severus felt the corner of his mouth quirk at her understanding. Pity that one went to Gryffindor. She'd make a fine Slytherin. He glanced at the water clock in the corner to find that it was just past nine and Miss Stewart was done with about half of the cupboard. Moving over to inspect her work he said, "At least you've made a tolerable effort for the evening, You may be excused, though I expect you to be here at precisely seven tomorrow night." Annie nodded her understanding and started to leave before hesitating. She had almost forgotten about her bet with Ginny but she was pretty certain that Ginny hadn't. Her friend wasn't exactly bloodthirsty but she had a temper even worse than Annie's own and Malven was good at provoking it. Severus could see the debate in her mind before she turned back with an uncertain expression, "Sir," she queried. "What is it Miss Stewart?" he asked in an uninterested tone. "I was wondering if there was a tutoring program here. I want to get some help with potions." Severus knew that Miss Stewart wasn't an academically minded student so it was unlikely that her request stemmed from a desire to improve her grades. Still, having any student that wasn't one of his Slytherins or the occasional Ravenclaw actually apply themselves would be a unique change. "I suggest you study then," Severus advised before turning his back to the girl. A few moments later Miss Stewart's foot steps echoed down the hall as she left.
Annie went through the next day just as she had the day before, slightly depressed at the thought of her continuing detention. Ginny and Collin helped her with her charms essay during lunch and practice DADA after dinner. Annie got so caught up with practicing her Quietus spell that she had to sprint to get to detention on time. She skidded into the classroom at exactly seven. She inhaled deeply through her nose to try and quietly get her breath back. Prof Snape was setting up a potion as she entered. He gave her a measuring gaze and indicated the store room before going back to arranging his ingredients. Annie nodded and started work again. The closer she got to the end of her task the faster it became and she sped through the last half of her assignment. She finished with a little over an hour left of her detention. Prof Snape stalked over and inspected her work minutely. He moved one jar to the left and discarded another before turning back. "I see I must find some other means of employing you for the rest of your detention," he drawled. He seemed to ponder for a moment before turning back to his potion, which he hadn't actually started yet, "Well?" he purred dangerously. Annie dashed over to his side. "As you seem to have time I believe it would be to my benefit to ensure that you didn't disrupt any more of my lessons with botched potions. These are the components of the Camoflous Draught. You will brew it flawlessly. Begin." Annie then started the most exhausting hour of her life. Every item had to be chopped, crushed, measured and mixed perfectly. Every time her efforts were inadequate Prof Snape bellowed at her and removed the offending item making her do the step over. By the end he had called into question her intelligence, her parentage, her magical ability, and loudly questioned how closely she was related to mollusks. She was drenched in sweat with her hair straggling down her back in damp strands but a perfect Camoflous Draught simmered in the cauldron before her. Prof Snape scrutinized her work before giving it a disdainful sniff, "It will do. Tomorrow you will make it again without one of the ingredients. It will be your task to discover what is missing and find the appropriate replacement. For your own sake I hope you took my words yesterday to heart." That was a clear dismissal an Annie took it as such. She staggered back to the Gryffindor den and slumped down in a chair. Collin was going through one of his many photo albums but looked up in alarm when she came in, "What happened!" Annie beamed wearily, "I brewed a perfect Camoflous Draught."
After that her days took on a pattern. She quickly finished her work for other classes before frantically studying every potions text she could get her hands. For the first hour of her detentions she would do something with the potion she had brewed the night before, like determining if it was usable by scent or giving at least three other potions it couldn't be used with. The second hour was spent brewing a new potion with Prof Snape roaring derisions at every mistake. By the end of the week Annie had decided that anyone that harbored romantic notions of Prof Snape being a tortured soul that just needed understanding to become a kind and giving person was a complete idiot. He was mean, spiteful and disparaging of anyone that couldn't live up to his standards. But Annie had worked harder for the smallest bit of approval from him then she had ever worked for anything before in her life. As she cleaned up her table on Friday she glanced over at Prof Snape. He had carefully bottled and labeled her work just as he had done every day that week. "Prof Snape," she said diffidently. "Yes Miss Stewart?" the Potions Master answered noncommittally. "I would like to continue sir." She didn't say what she wanted to continue and he didn't ask. He made no response while she finished cleaning and he placed her most resent effort on a shelf with the rest of her work. As she waited to be dismissed he gave her a piercing look, "I have an advanced potions study group that meets every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 in the afternoon. This includes Christmas holidays. I expect you to keep up." With that he turned back to his desk as if she weren't there. Annie left feeling strangely giddy, as if she had just been given the Quiddich Cup.
Saturday brought a flurry of activity as students prepared to go home for the Christmas Holidays. Annie sat on her sisters bed and helped her pack the last of her Christmas presents for Blaise and his family, "So how is it going with Blaise?" she asked. Mary Sue shrugged as she carefully wrapped the last present, "It's alright. I'm not sure how long I'll stay with him though. He's just so different." Her eyes filled up with tears at that thought, like dew drenched violets. Annie tried desperately not to role her eyes. Mary Sue seemed to hang all her happiness on finding her 'soul mate' and Annie just didn't see the reason. Not that she hadn't wanted guys before, she was sixteen after all, but she hadn't ever found anyone that was more than a friend with benefits. Fun to hang out with, but that's all. Her sister placed the last present in her school trunk and levitated it up behind her, "I'll see you after the holidays!" she said with a smile before heading down the stairs. "Oh, don't worry. I'll be fine alone…again," Annie muttered. Mary Sue wasn't exactly a bad sister there just wasn't any room for anyone but Mary Sue in her world. Annie hid in the bathroom until everyone left just after lunch, she didn't feel like trying to explain why her family had left her alone on her first Christmas in a strange country. Determined to not waste her vacation, Annie changed into some training gear and grabbed her broom before heading for the Astronomy Tower. It took almost ten minutes to climb to the top and find an open window big enough for her to climb out of. The wind whipped her sweater and tried to tug her Blue Feather from her hand. Gripping it tightly, she flung herself off of the ledge. The air rushed past her as her heart raced with adrenaline. Half way down she tucked the broom under her and pulled up hard, using the dive to give her more speed then her broom could normally get. It had been one of her favorite moved on the Quiddich pitch and had given her the nickname "Kestrel". Only her team had ever called her that but she had been proud to be the first one to use Seeker moves to get the Quaffle away from the other team. She spent the rest of the afternoon practicing her Quiddich skills with an enchanted Quaffle. By the time night was falling she was soaked with sweat and determined to fit practice in at least twice a week. Her proficiency with her Blue Feather had dropped drastically since coming to England. From an enchanted window in the Slytherin Dormitories, someone watched the dives and roles of a quiddich player practicing on the pitch. Distractedly he tried to recognize them by their moves but couldn't place it. With a shrug he made a mental note to incorporate some of those moves into his teams training before turning back to his potions homework.
Annie ate dinner in the Gryffindor common room, which she privately referred to as the Lion's Den, with a couple of other Gryffindors that had stayed behind. After dinner she went up to her room to grab the latest steampunk novel. As she pulled it from the shelf she saw her potions textbook sitting to one side with an accusatory layer of dust on it. Annie waffled for a moment before putting the novel back, stuffing the potions book and a writing journal into her schoolbag and trudging down to the library. She smiled at the librarian before heading to the potions section. 'What do I start with?' Annie wondered as she gazed at a daunting array of potions texts and treatise. Deep inside her mind she heard Prof Snape snarl, 'Blasted idiot girl! The formula is infantile! A potion is only as good as the ingredients put into it!' Annie cocker her head to the side, "A potion is only as good as the ingredients…" she mumbled. Scanning the shelves again she took down two volumes about potions components and one entitled 'Advanced Potions for Graduates', and ranged them before her on a table to the back. She was quickly absorbed in the different herbs and animal ingredients that made up the art of potion making. Each ingredient had a use and most had warnings about which items they couldn't be combined with. After reading some of the more gruesome effects of botched potions Annie wondered if Prof Snape was getting danger pay. She set a goal of researching one potion and finding the active components and the most likely botches for it. "AHHH!" she shrieked as someone touched her shoulder. Madam Pince shushed her furiously and announced that it was ten o'clock and the library was closing. Annie ducked her head to hide a scalding blush as she gathered her books and checked out the tomes she had been perusing. She had always been praised on her courage and took a lot of pride in it, so to be scared into screaming by a mere nudge was humiliating. Annie sent a silent prayer of thanks that no one had heard her as she entered her dorm room.
Sunday and Monday flew by in a whirl of flying practice, potions study and several hours spent re-reading one of her favorite dog-eared novels. She had gotten through the Camoflous Draught, the Fillius Philter, and the Draught of Living Death. There were so many things that could go hideously wrong with the last one that it had given her nightmares that evening. Finally Tuesday came with its promised potions study class. Annie nervously made her way to the potions classroom with her potions text and the books from the library .