A/N: I'm SO sorry for the lack of updates! School is INSANE, and I've recently discovered tumblr and reddit. So, here's the next chapter! Chapter 7 might be a bit delayed, though not NEARLY as delayed as this one has been. Depends on when my muse strikes.

The Serpent And the Star: Chapter 6

Severus glanced warily around the corner. For the past week, Albus had been attempting to get him into his office to talk about the little monsters known as students, and Poppy kept cornering him for long talks about his health. This meant even his own quarters were no longer safe, and he had taken to roaming the grounds and the Forbidden Forest and keeping an eye out for potions ingredients.

On the issue (hah! Issue didn't even begin to describe…) of the students, Snape had pondered the side of him he would reveal to the little brats. After much thought, he had decided he would simply glare and look menacing. That ought to stop a few of those incompetent Gryffindors from passing and would give him more subjects to insult.

Not all Gryffindors were all that bad, though. Minerva was tolerable, and did have quite the head for mischief, especially pranks involving Albus Dumbledore, and he retaliated in kind. Not a week of the summer holidays went by without Albus's slippers turning into mice, or his lemon drops being charmed to turn him into various tiny objects, or one of his trinkets smoking or, heaven forbid, exploding….. She had even once, when she was particularly angry about him turning all of her Ginger Newts into real newts, made his lemon drops sprout little legs and dance out of his reach whenever he grasped for them.

As Snape had learned, not all of the teachers were as….. old as he thought. Pomona Sprout always knew the latest gossip and loved to trick Filius Flitwick, and the tottery old Charms professor was capable of some pretty nasty spells in retribution. Victoria Vector seemed to have a sort of feud with Sybil Trelawney, and they would fight on the rare occasions the Divination professor wandered out of the North Tower. The DADA professor, Michael Fisher, seemed to have a love/hate relationship with the Muggle Studies professor, Charity Burbage.

And Aurora Sinistra. She was everywhere and nowhere. Sometimes Snape could swear he had heard the soft tapping of her black heels on the stone floors, but when he turned around, she was nowhere in sight. He found himself watching her at meals. Why he was so fascinated by the Astronomy professor, he didn't know. But—

"Severus?"

Drat! It was Dumbledore! Snape dodged behind a suit of armor, but—

"Ah, there you are! I've been meaning to speak to you."

…..Damn.

"What is it Dumbledore? Before you ask, yes I have my lesson plans done, yes I know what to do if the Dark Lord calls during class, yes I know how I shall handle the brats, no I will not kill any, and you can't help me with anything else."

Albus chuckled. I'm glad to hear that, Severus, but I simply wanted to tell you there's a staff meeting in the staff room at 5:00 this evening. I have something very exciting to show all of you!

And with that he swept down the corridor with his lime green, lemon patterned robes that were only a small part of his frankly alarming summer wardrobe, and out of sight.

The black-clad Potions Master sighed and sat down on a nearby bench. It was by a window with a rather stunning view of the Black Lake, and, enjoying the sunlight and the scenery, Snape let himself drift into his thoughts.

He sat like that for hours so when the clock chimed 5 o'clock, he didn't even stir from his reverie. Minutes later, however, he was shaken from the confines of his mind by a small, delicate hand on his shoulder. He followed the arm, and saw the face of the Astronomy professor looking disinterestedly at him.

"Snape." Aurora said in that honey-chocolate voice. "SNAPE. Snap out of it."

He shook himself. "What?"

She didn't reply, merely pointed at the clock. It read 5:10.

Severus bolted upright, robes flapping in an undignified manner around his ankles. He'd have to work on that. Perhaps have them specially tailored. It wasn't like he was short of money; he was the Prince heir after all.

Sinistra sighed. "Look, Snape. We've got to get going. Albus has another 'brilliant' idea he wants to share, and he won't do it without you there. Come ON."

He went. The spot where she had shaken him was…tingling a bit. He'd have to take a potion for muscle fatigue.

Albus was beaming and twinkling as Aurora, Snape in tow, strode through the tall oak doorframe of the staff conference room. There was obviously, Severus groaned, something Muggle related going on here: a set of Post-it notes was sat on the round cherry wood table at each of the wingbacked chairs.

"Now that everyone is here," Dumbledore said, "we can begin. I discovered a spell in one of my personal library's transfiguration scrolls and altered it a bit. I think this shall be a very interesting little experiment. You see, this spell, Spiritus, will transform a Post-it note, ingenious Muggle invention by the way, into your spirit animal, and you can use these animals to send messages. Essentially, it's a low-power patronus. I think it would be useful, and several of our staff cannot produce a patronus. Madame Pince, for instance."

The room was silent for a moment. Then, Minerva said," I think this is an excellent idea, Albus."

Dumbledore clapped his hands. "Well, let's get started, then!" he cried jovially. "I'll start, shall I?"

He whipped his wand out of his robes and waved it at a scarlet Post-it, muttering "Spiritus" under his breath. The paper square folded in on itself in complicated creases, coming out in the end as a small origami phoenix. It soared over to McGonagall, opened its beak, and said "Your turn!" in Albus's merry voice.

She chuckled and waved her wand at her gray post-it, which became a cat with a slightly haughty perk to its ears. It slinked over to Filius Flitwick and mewed, "Go, Filius."

Flitwick's mouse scurried over to Pomona Sprout, who in turn sent her elephant to Aurora.

Snape didn't know why he was paying so much attention to the animal that would spring from Sinistra's black post-it. He really didn't.

The square of paper creased multiple times, folding over itself to form the large wings and the delicate neck… of a black swan. It swam through the air to float gently before Severus.

No message was needed. He raised his ebony wand and enchanted his paper. It began to form sharp, hard creases. Snape looked at it, trying to find the familiar thin legs of his doe, but instead of four legs there were none. Instead, there were wings.

A black paper crane bobbed on the currents of magic around him.

Severus stared, mystified, at the bird in front of him. At a glance from Dumbledore, however, he snapped back to reality and sent his crane soaring towards Michael Fisher.

He spent the rest of the meeting puzzling the meaning of his animal change.