{Disclaimer:  The Harry Potter world was created by J.K. Rowling and rights are owned by, but not limited to, Scholastic Books and Warner Brothers.  I, therefore, own no parts of this save for the characters of Andromeda McGee, Wyvern, and a few random Death Eaters that are all figments of my twisted imagination and the plot.}

Chapter 11

Snapping Out Of It

**So let's bring on the men/ And let the fun begin/ A little touch of sin/ Can't wait another minute/ Step this way/ It's time for us to play/ We may never walk this way again/ So let's waste no more time/ Bring on the men!  Bring On The Men, Jekyll &Hyde: The Musical**

Andy fell asleep on the couch soon after Snape left.  Maybe he had been right.  Maybe she didn't need to do this.  Maybe she could still live without them.  She had lived without Sirius and Remus for the years she had been imprisoned in Azkaban.  Then again, she had no idea that they even existed when she was in Azkaban.  But still, she had existed without them being there, and that was the point she wished to make.

The sun woke her groggily the next morning.  She blinked, noticing that something was different.  Not thinking about what it was, she wandered slowly into the bathroom and washed her face.  As she toweled it dry, she gazed into the mirror.  'Gee, I look like crap,' she thought to herself.  Her cheekbones stood out sharply against her skin, pale from the lack of sunlight.  Her eyes were deeply hollowed and her hair was going at least seventeen different directions that she did not want it to.  "Yes, I definitely look like crap," she repeated, this time out loud.

She found a brush nearby and began to detangle her unruly locks.  Despite anything she did, they still decided to misbehave.  Locating her wand, which ended up being in a dark corner under her bed, she cast a quick spell to charm her hair into compliance.  A bit of make-up hid the dark circles under her eyes.  "Much better."

It was then realized that her robes were rumbled, having obviously seen much better days.  Grumbling about her lack of foresight, she rummaged through her wardrobe.  Black robes, more black robes, another set of black robes, dress robes, little black dress, even more black robes…Wait a second!  She perked up, realizing what she had found.  Andy pulled out what could only be called a 'little black dress.'  It was a simple cut, but it would do for now.  She pulled it on and took a look in the full length mirror.  "This is a definite improvement.  I no longer look like crap, though I do need shoes."  A pair of matching black sandals was found.  She had gotten them earlier in the summer to replace the brown ones Severus had given her, since they had finally worn out.  Grabbing her handbag and her wand, she stepped out of her room.

Andy finally realized what was different.  She no longer felt completely miserable over losing her best friends.  The ache was still there, but she could learn to live without them.  There was a hope that they could be alive.  She would miss them, yes, but she would not let that dominate her entire existence.  She walked down the empty halls of Hogwarts, finding no one.

Snape paced his new classroom.  It was almost the way he wanted it.  There were enough frightening things in jars and bottles that could be placed around the room.  Remus had thoughtfully left all the cages and tanks, though without the fearsome creatures in them.  They would be filled soon enough.  He glanced out the window.  It was a rather nice view of the Forbidden Forest.  He saw someone walking the path towards Hogsmeade and recognized the honey blonde hair.  So Andy had decided to come out of her cave at last.  It had certainly taken her long enough to do so.  At least she had finished her moping and would actually be useful for awhile until she found something else to stew over.  God forbid that would ever happen again…  She disappeared as the path curved out of his view.

Andy forced herself to walk with her head held high.  She was not in the best of moods, but she would fake it for now.  There were few things she to pick up before the semester began.  The potion ingredients had yet to be retrieved from Mr. Valerian's shop.   There were still some things left at the cabin that she might need in the future.  That would be her first stop: Remus's cabin.

The cabin was empty.  Remus had locked it by the same spell he had used over seventeen years ago, so it is simple to get into.  Not wanting to stay, she quickly went to the basement and gathered her belongings.  She knew she could come back anytime, but it would be nice to have the necessities she needed on hand.  Unused potion ingredients were placed in their box along with various diaries and tomes of recipes.  That would last her awhile, especially given how difficult it was to decipher most of it.  She stuffed any clothing that was there into a battered suitcase and carted both things up the stairs.  They were easily Floo-ed back to Hogwarts.  With a flick of her wand, she recast the locking spell and Apparated to Diagon Alley.

Herds of people trounced through the streets.  Andy reminded herself that the term would be beginning in a few days time.  She made a quick stop at Gringotts for the meager amount of money she had left.  There would be more once the term started.

Valerian's Apothecary was mostly deserted save for only a few people.  Andy approached the counter cautiously.

"Andromeda, my dear, how are you?" Mr. Valerian's face lit up with a wide smile as he saw her.

"I'm wonderful, Jonas.  Do you have the ingredients that I requested?"

"Of course I do!  You wouldn't think that I would ever let one of my best customers down, would you?"

"Not at all," she replied reassuringly.

"Just give me a moment to locate them…" he pulled a large brown package off of a high shelf behind his counter.  "Here you go."

"How much do I owe you?"

He grinned wider.  "Nothing at all, my dear.  After what you did last month, you deserve something."

"I didn't do much."

"You're too modest, Andromeda.  I watched you.  It isn't any one who will sacrifice themselves knowing very well that they could be killed in a fray like that."

Andy gulped.  Why did he have to remind her?  "It took me the last month or so to recover from it."

"Yes, but you did play your part, so these are on me."

"Thank you, Jonas.  I appreciate it."  She was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth.  If he wanted to give the ingredients to her then she would take them willingly.  She didn't have much money to spend anyways.  She flashed him a quick, thankful smile as she exited the shop with the bundle tucked under arm.

Andy wandered through the streets, not wanting to return to Hogwarts.  She needed to be out more, be with people a bit, to get used to them again.  She had been away from civilization for too long.  She ducked into Flourish and Blotts, hoping to find some of the latest news on what was happening in the world.  It would be the easiest place to get information quickly.  She went first to the Potions section, hoping there would be something new.  She picked a book at random and flipped through the pages.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Arthur Weasley," a blonde haired man snapped caustically.

"Lucius, how pleasant to see you," Arthur replied coldly.

"I suppose your work is going well?" Lucius glanced down at the cauldron Ginny Weasley was carrying that was filled with battered, used books.

Arthur went red and blustery in the face, almost turning the same shade of his hair.

Andy looked up from the book and set it absentmindedly back on the shelf.  That did not sound good.  Lucius Malfoy and Arthur Weasley together in the same room was definitely not a good thing, especially if she judged the expressions on the bystanders' faces.  There was only one thing she could do if a fight could be prevented.

"Lucius, how surprising to see you here!" Andy cooed, taking him by the elbow and leading him away from the Weasley clan.  She glanced back over her shoulder with a wink towards Ginny.  She knew the girl would understand what she was doing.

Lucius Malfoy was caught unaware by the strange woman who had led him away from picking a fight with the Weasleys.  Though it would have been an entertaining thing to do, he supposed finding an attractive woman would have to do for now.  "I do not believe we have formally met before.  Do I know you?"  He kept his voice neutral as he surveyed the woman.  She was shorter than he usually liked them, with honey blonde hair and a slender figure.  Her eyes were dark and mysterious.  Maybe this could get interesting…

"You may have heard of me before.  I am Andromeda McGee, the current Potions Mistress at Hogwarts."

Yes, he had heard of her.  Draco had kept him informed.  She had taught most of last year.  His son had said that she was highly skilled in her art and very dangerous as well.  Lord Voldemort had warned him to watch out for her.  His Master had plans for her.  Maybe this would be more interesting than he had originally thought.  "Ah, yes, Draco told me about you.  I am Lucius Malfoy."

"It's a pleasure to finally be able to meet you.  I suppose your son would have told you about me.  He's one of my best students."

"I would not expect anything less from him than the best."

Andy nodded carefully.  She would have to hold her ground.  "Severus said that you were an excellent potions brewer yourself.  He must have inherited it from you."

Lucius raised his eyebrows slightly at the mention of Severus Snape.  So they were on a first name basis… "I practice the art."

"That's all any of us can do: practice it and improve it."

"Yet from what I have heard, you seem to be one of the best."

"Maybe.  I have never been one to compare myself with others."

"You are on par with Severus, who is one of the best, so that would make you one of the best as well," he kept his voice smooth and laced with honey, attempting more to seduce her than just chatting.

"If that is how you wish to put it, then, yes, I might be.  So if you were worried about my qualifications that would be my only explanation," Andy could tell by his tone what he was attempting to do.  She knew better than to fall for this man, as handsome as he might be.  Lucius Malfoy was pure evil.

"I am not at all worried about how well you are qualified in Potions.  I simply wanted to know if what I had heard was true."

"Ah, then yes, it most likely is, depending on what you have heard."

Lucius looked at the large clock in the center of the alley, realizing that he had an appointment in a few minute's time.  It was rather unfortunate that he would have to cut the conversation short.  "I'm afraid I must be off."  He took her hand and kissed it lightly.  "It was a pleasure meeting you."  He turned and walked away, thankful to be rid of her before she did anything or worse, if he did anything to her.  He considered asking his Master if he could have her when he was finished with her.

Andy watched the tall platinum blonde disappear into a shop before allowing herself to laugh.  She was rather proud of herself for being able to make the man uncomfortable.  He had taken it better than she had expected him to.  He hadn't blown up at her or cursed her or did something gruesome to her.  That had been extremely surprising.  She had only done it to save the Weasleys.  Severus had warned her about Lucius Malfoy.  He had said that Malfoy was as evil as they come and then some.  He was highly immersed in the Dark Arts and the Death Eaters.  That was also where she had learned that he, too, had an interest in potions, though his was more toward the illegal portion of them.  She wandered the streets hoping to run into the Weasleys.

"Andy!" Ginny called exuberantly from a bench outside a robe shop.

"Hello, Virginia.  Do you mind if I sit for a moment?"

The girl shook her head.  She had wanted to talk with Andy since July, especially after the attack.  She still did not understand why the professor always asked permission before doing something.  It must be just an odd quirk, she decided.  "Go right ahead.  No one else is sitting there."

Andy sat down on the bench, placing her package of potions ingredients on her lap.  "That's much better.   I forgot what I ordered, but this definitely is not all dried ingredients."

Ginny smiled.  Andy obviously hadn't been too badly harmed in the attack if her sense of humor was still functioning.  "I wanted to thank you for what you did with Mr. Malfoy.  I know Dad wouldn't admit to almost getting in a fight with him again, much less be gracious about not being able to hit him."

"It was no problem.  I know that the two of them do not get along very well."

Ginny snorted.  "That's an understatement."

"I was just at the right place at the right time.  It's an odd habit I have, though sometimes it works in opposing ways."

"It worked this time."                                                                     

"Yes, I suppose it did."  The head of the Weasley family appeared from inside the shop.  Andy stood up.  "I should get going.  I don't want to infringe on your shopping time."

"We're almost done."

"Ginny!  We're finished in here," Arthur Weasley called to his daughter.  He then noticed Andy standing next to her.  His eyes narrowed as he recognized her as the woman who had taken Malfoy away before he had gotten a clean shot at him.

"Alright, Dad."  She noticed her father's expression.  "Oh, yeah, Dad, this is Andromeda McGee, our new Potions Mistress.  Andy, this is my father, Arthur Weasley."

Arthur's expression changed to a slightly calmer one, though not by much.  So this was the new professor that Ginny kept talking about.  "Pleased to meet you."

"Virginia's told me a lot about you.  She said that you enjoy studying Muggles."  Andy had figured that the man would assume she was a friend of Malfoy and not be too thrilled to see her chatting with his daughter and therefore, it would be best to breach the ice with a topic the man was comfortable discussing.

His face brightened as she had guessed it would.  "Oh, yes, I find them simply fascinating.  It's amazing, really, how they manage to survive without being able to use magic and be forced to use things like their eclectricity instead."

"You mean electricity?" Andy asked.

"Yes, that's the word!  You know what I'm talking about?"

"Both my parents were Muggles, so I was raised as one."

"Really?  Do you think you could explain the telly-vision thing?  Is it like the Floo Network?  I mean, I've never actually seen one work, but I've read about them.  Do you think you could?"

"There you are, Arthur!" Molly Weasley bustled out of a shop with Ron close behind carrying a large load of boxes.  "I was beginning to where you had run off to."  She noticed Andy standing nearby.  "Oh, hello, dear, did you have a nice summer?"

Andy wanted to tell her everything that had happened, but knew she couldn't.  It was only an innocent question, not one meant to provoke her.  Obviously no one else knew about her near-death experience during the attack or what had happened to Sirius and Remus.  She supposed she would have to make something up.  "It was extremely restful, to say the least.  And yours?"

"It was very exciting!  We vacationed in France."

"Wow, that's impressive.  Is the Eiffel Tower really as huge and as amazing as people say it is?"

"Oh, yes, it was simply gorgeous!  Everything was so beautiful there!"

"And how was the Louvre?  Did you visit there?  Did you see a da Vinci or a Raphael?"

"Arthur wanted to go there.  The paintings and other art were absolutely spectacular!  Though they were not as grand as I expected; they didn't move or talk to you like artwork should."

"Of course they wouldn't talk!  The artists were Muggles!" Andy sounded almost indignant as if she could not believe that some one would think that of a da Vinci.

"Are you sure?" Arthur butted into the conversation.  "With skills like that, I would not be surprised if some of those painters were wizards."

"True, but still…we would have known by now if they were.  There is a chance, but it is rather slim.  I don't think they were."

"Yes, but speaking of Muggles, what about that telly-vision thing?"

"You mean television?"

"Yes, that, the little box with all the people inside it."

"Alright, fine…It more or less is a box with pictures, though there are no people living inside it."

"There aren't?  Then how does it work if the people can't be right there?" 

"No, of course not!  How could so many different people fit inside one tiny, little box?  It's all moving pictures, sort of like our paintings, though in Muggle style.  Each picture is made up of tiny parts…"

{Author's Note:  Well, that was pointless.  Oh, well. It's what happens when I get bored and decide that I feel the need to throw Lucius in every so often for the hell of it.  And mind you, like Andy, I have an odd habit of randomly showing up places.  It scares people.

Anna Black:  Alright, let's see if I can explain this.  When we got our other computer about a year and a half ago (after I had joined ff.net), it came with a free year of AOL, so we kept that for our internet service.  Before AOL, we had about two or three different ones, so instead of changing my e-mail address every time we changed providers, I created a Yahoo account, which I have used for about four years as my main account.  Mind you, I also have a separate AIM account instead of simply using AOL IM because we tend to change providers a lot. So it is easier for me in the long run to just keep my Yahoo account as my e-mail.  Yahoo, unfortunately, was not cooperating when I posted the last chapter and would not let me open mail, reply to mail, or compose mail, so no posting message got sent.  On top of that, Dad restricted my internet access because he said that I stay on-line too much.  Therefore, life sucks, except for my boyfriend because he's sweet and gives me chocolate, which is a good thing.  I think I have way too much fun with Snape.  What do you say?

Shasa Perino:  Yes, Snape has returned.  I think I have a wee bit too much fun with him.  Oh well…and yes, hot and sour soup.  I am evil enough to kill Sirius, but we have to have some comic relief in the story.

Lunatic:  I welcome you to my humble collection of Harry Potter Fan Fictions, though they usually don't involve Potter himself.  I do have some odd obsession with Snape, who some how has no problem acting like himself.  I think he's the one character from the books that I can actually write halfway decently.  You're supposed to feel sorry for Andy.  It's how she is.  No, Remus and Sirius are not dead; they just had to be taken out of the picture for a bit.

Sora G. Silverwind:  Good for you.  They are trapped, unconscious, or something.  Snape has returned.  He's the best!

Peace, Love, and Peanut Butter Smidgeons, Nataly Ravenlock}