"They have to come today, don't they?" Ron asked Harry and Hermione as they walked down the marble stair case. "There's barely any days of the week left."

"Maybe, they won't come at all." Harry said, flatly.

"There's not much chance of that." Hermione said so sadly that it made the boys turn to look at her. The trio had stopped walking.

Before Harry or Ron could say something, Luna, whose previously waist length hair had been cut to fall a little past her shoulders and was in a messy bun, appeared on Hermione's left and asked, "Why so glum, Hermione? Did you run into some nargles?"

Hermione blinked in confusion, "What? No, I didn't, Luna." She told her, "I just…er…"

Luna looked the whole trio over. Then, she asked, "You're all wondering about Professor Snape's relatives I suppose. It's all anyone ever talks about now, isn't it?"

"Well, it's worth talking about, isn't it?" Ron asked her, as if it should have been obvious. "I mean you know," he glanced, nervously, over at the dungeons, "how Snape is." He added, uncertainly, "Right?"

"He's always been very strict." Luna commented.

Ron snorted, "Yeah, you could say that."

Harry asked, "Luna, do you have any theories about them, Snape's brother and niece?"

"Well…" she eyed Hermione and paused. Luna thought over what she wanted to say. She settled on, "Professor Dumbledore's letting them come here. So, they must be ok."

Hermione smiled a little, but not with her eyes, "You're probably right. And it's not like they're being sent here by the Ministry, at least."

Luna nodded. Then, she asked, "Should we all head into the Great Hall now?"

"Yeah, I guess." Ron anwered, unenthusiastically, for all of them.

The trio and Luna continued down the stairs together, which pleased Luna.

As they passed by the giant house point hourglasses that were outside the entrance to the Great Hall, Ron looked at Slytherin's hourglass and asked, "How can they have five hundred points already?"

"Snape." Harry replied, flatly.

Hermione looked over her shoulder and told them, "Don't worry about it. We'll get more points soon."

"She's right." Luna added, hopefully, "Or maybe Ravenclaw will."

"As long as it's not Slytherin, I'll be happy." Ron remarked.

Just as Luna was about to go over to the Ravenclaw table, Hermione offered, "Luna, you can sit with us until breakfast starts."

Ron gave Harry a surprised look and Harry shrugged.

Luna smiled appreciatively and sat beside Hermione, with her legs facing the opposite way of the table for when she had to get up.

Luna shared with them, "I've heard some of the teachers talking about Professor Snape's brother and their niece."

"So have I." Hermione said. "I was talking with Professor McGonagall about it-"

Ron asked, in disbelief, "You couldn't have mentioned that before, Hermione?"

"Well," she said, "I didn't really think it was worth mentioning. All she told me was that I'd see them later in the week, like everyone else."

"You think she'd at least tell you about it." Ron remarked. "Being the star pupil an all."

"Oh, honestly, Ron, I'm not the star pupil." Hermione told him.

"Yeah, well you'll probably be head girl next year." Ron told her.

"I think Ron's right, Hermione." Luna added. "I mean you're even smarter than all the Ravenclaws. And that really is saying something."

Harry put in, "We all know how smart you are, Hermione. I'm sure all the teachers know you're going to be head girl too."

Hermione smiled, modestly, "Well, it would be nice."

The others chuckled and so did Hermione.

As they kept talking, Luna caught on to the fact that Harry and Ron were avoiding any Snape related topics for Hermione. But as more students came in, including Ginny, Neville, and Fred and George with their friend Lee Jordan, it just couldn't be avoided.

"I'm telling you," Fred had said, as soon as someone asked him about Snape's brother and their niece, "they're coming here to teach us all how to get our hair as perfectly greasy as Snape's."

Ginny, for Neville's sake, had tried to start up a conversation on which flavor of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans was best, but got drowned out.

Eventually, Luna had to go over to the Ravenclaw table and McGonagall silenced the students and staff to say, "Professor Dumbledore will be along shortly, with our new arrivals. Then, we may have our breakfast."

"I'm almost kind of relieved I didn't sleep into day." Ron said. "Imagine how awful it would be to come down for lunch and find two more Snapes are in the school."

Harry, who had been nodding in agreement, stopped and whispered to Ron and Hermione, "Hey, guys, look at Lupin."

They saw that Lupin was having a hard time trying to look calm. His chin was resting on his hands and he kept looking up at the ceiling. He also had the burden of sitting next to Snape.

"Do you reckon he's praying?" Ron asked.

"I guess we know how bad he expects them to be then." Harry commented.

Hermione turned to them and said, "Maybe, they didn't know he was a werewolf before or about Sirius's prank." She suddenly looked worried, "We know how much Snape holds grudged. They might be the same way."

Harry stared at her a moment, then flicked his eyes over at Lupin. "The others teachers could have at least made sure he didn't have to sit next to Snape."

"But then some of them would have to sit next to Lupin instead." Ron theorized. "And how popular is Lupin really, with the rest of the staff, since Snape let it slip that he's a werewolf?"

Hermione stated, "Well, I'm sure Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore are fine with him, but the others…" She decided, "They should be able to understand that Professor Lupin is harmless."

"In human form," Ron added, awkwardly.

Harry asked, apprehensively, "Do you reckon Snape's still going to be the one making those potions for Lupin?"

Hermione admitted, sadly, "I don't think anyone else is capable of it."

"Well, what was he doing before he came back?" Ron asked. "I mean we saw him loads of times in the summer."

"But never around the full moon." Hermione pointed out.

Ron and Harry thought back to the summer and were hit by the sickening realization that Hermione was right.

"I never thought about it." Harry said.

"Because we were too busy thinking about the best ways to avoid the rooms my mum and dad were arguing with Fred and George in." Ron added.

Hermione looked away from them and back at Lupin, with Harry and Ron, who was now looking at Snape from the corner of his eye. Suddenly, Snape started to notice and Lupin turned away.

Harry, absently, looked over at Draco Malfoy, who was talking with Pansy Parkinson. They both looked pleased and relaxed, like the other Slytherins.

The doors to the Great Hall burst open and everyone turned to look. Professor Dumbledore strode in, dressed in deep blue robes and a matching hat, with black embroidery. He was being followed by Isaac and Natalie, who were followed by Ashley and Gregory.

There was only an arm's length of distance between Harry, Ron, Hermione and Natalie. Hermione noticed how she was forcing herself to look forward and focus on Dumbledore's chair. On the other side of Dumbledore, Isaac took a quick glance of where his brother and Lupin were sitting. Snape watched him blankly, but Lupin looked at him, uneasily.

Dumbledore stood with the four of them, between the staff and student tables. He was smiling, pleasantly. He locked eyes with Harry for a moment and Harry, impulsively, smiled back.

"Everyone," Dumbledore announced, like he had just won a major victory, "I have the pleasure of finally being able to introduce you to Isaac Snape," he motioned to Isaac, who nodded in acknowledgement, "and Natalie Wilds." Natalie raised her hand and smiled a little. "They've come here to work as tutors. They'll be more assistance to you in an out of the classes they work in."

"One of them is a kid!" a seventh year Gryffindor shouted from the end of the table.

Dumbledore craned his neck to get a look at the seventh year, a girl with a scarlet streak in her medium brown hair. He explained, "Yes, I'm sure you all must be wondering why she isn't coming here as a first year. You see Natalie learned all the required levels of magic from her uncle Isaac, with permission from me and the Ministry."

The students and most of the staff did a double take. Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned to each other, with their mouths shaped like O's. Ginny eyed Neville, who had started feeling as nervous as he did in Snape's class. Lupin raised his eyebrows. Filch looked down at Mrs. Norris, who tilted her head. Natalie's parents looked proud and Isaac and Natalie shared a serious look. Snape eventually locked eyes with Isaac and nodded once, respectively.

"It is quite an achievement." Dumbledore remarked. "That's why we're so lucky to have her and her uncle with us." A smile popped on his face, "Well, I'll just give you a chance to hear from them."

He stepped aside and said something to Natalie's parents, Natalie, and Isaac. Ashley responded and then stepped forward.

She smiled, kindly, "Hello. I'm Natalie's mother, Ashley Wilds, and I'm also Isaac's and your Potion's master's younger sister." The nonSlytherin students and some teachers did another double take. A lot of the nonSlytherin boys felt queasy, since they initially thought she was attractive. "Well, I'm obviously very biased, but I think my daughter will be a great addition to this school. So will my other brother."

She stepped back and motioned for Gregory to go next.

He waved a little and said, "Hi. I'm Gregory Wilds, Natalie's father. Well, I'm obviously biased too, but I also think my daughter will definitely be a great addition to this school and so will, of course, her other uncle."

Gregory stepped back and said something to Natalie and Isaac. Then, Natalie asked Isaac something and he nodded.

Isaac stepped forward and took a deep breath. The students looked him over and immediately noticed how he dressed in all black, like Snape. Isaac's hair had also obviously been cut by his own hand, but it looked better than Snape's. It wasn't anything to envy, but at least Isaac's hair wasn't greasy.

Isaac had his hands folded in front of him, nervously, "I'm Isaac Snape. So you don't confuse me with my younger brother, you can call me Mr. Snape. Well, since I was able to teach my niece enough of the required courses, I'm not very limited on what I can help you with. But my strong suits are Potions, like my brother, and Herbology," Neville frowned, just thinking about Isaac showing up in his favorite class, "and Defense Against the Dark Arts." He detected how that had made many students feel nervous and lowered his eyes, "I…" he smiled, bitterly, to himself.

Then, he looked up and said, "I think that maybe the best thing I can do is tell you about my father, who is also your Potions master's father of course. Well, anyway, before I tell you about our father, I should mention that, before I came to work here, I was an Auror." Most of the students did a double take again. The teachers, who did the same, thought it made sense after they gave it a second thought.

Isaac finished, "Before my first mission, I was nervous, as you might expect or might not expect. Some of you might think being an Auror means you're fearless, but it doesn't." He realized he was getting too personal and smiled, uncomfortably, "Well, my father gave me a little advice. He said, 'Honest men don't really have to be afraid of the truth.' Well, he said men, but you can apply it to both genders."

Filch looked at Mrs. Norris again, Snape couldn't make himself look at his brother and Remus felt more uncomfortable about having to sit next to Snape. Draco Malfoy had looked down as soon as his lower lip twitched and the trio had, like other students, exchanged glances.

Isaac commented, "Unfortunately, our world is very dangerous right now. For some of you, you'll have to decide soon where you'll go and what you'll do outside of this school. And it might help you figure out how to decide things, if you think about what my father told me. Again, both genders included. You don't want to go through life, with a lot of regret. So, choose your life wisely."

Isaac stepped back, so Natalie could go and speak. She looked over the students and Hermione thought she was making an extra effort to avoid looking at the trio.

"I know some of you already hate me." she admitted. Natalie saw the shocked looks appear on the students' faces. She quickly added, "I mean I'm a tutor and younger than a lot of you," she smiled, nervously, "but that doesn't mean that I'm going to expect you be like me or just get things right away. I wouldn't be a tutor, if I thought that." She tried to think of more things to say, but was drawing a blank. So, she said, "Well, since I am so young, you can just call me Natalie. I don't really think I'm ready to be called Miss Wilds yet."

Natalie stepped back and shared a nervous look with Isaac.

Dumbledore asked Filch to get four more chairs for Isaac, Natalie, Ashley, and Gregory and the four of them ended up sitting with Snape and Lupin. When he brought over the chairs, Filch and Isaac had locked eyes, briefly. As for Lupin, he was trying to completely avoid looking at Isaac, who was sitting next to him instead of Snape.

"Poor guy," Ron said.

Harry added, "Yeah, but at least he's sitting near Dumbledore. That ought to keep him safe, kind of."

"Right, well, we really don't have to worry about it then." Hermione commented, briskly.

Harry and Ron, confused, turned to her.

"Hermione," Ron said, "he's sitting next to possible Death Eaters and you don't think we have to worry about him."

Hermione glanced over at the staff table. Then, she looked back at Ron and Harry, "Just because Snape was a Death Eater doesn't mean that his whole family was. And, honestly, do you really think Natalie is one? She's a little kid."

"She's not that young, Hermione." Harry pointed out. "We were basically her age, when we went to fight Quirrel."

"That's different." Hermione countered. "We weren't setting out to kill people, Harry. Besides, try looking at her arms, both of you."

Harry and Ron immediately turned around and saw that Natalie had rolled up her sleeves to eat. There was no sign of the Dark Mark on either arm.

The boys turned back to Hermione, who said, "See? She's a kid, not some killer."

"Yeah, but she's probably being taught to hate Muggles—"

Ron froze and Harry widened his eyes. Hermione was looking very seriously at Ron.

"So, maybe, she is, Ron." Hermione's voice was a little shaky. "She's a kid. She might not know any better."

"Right," Ron said, quietly, and looked away.

The trio stopped conversing to focus on eating. Natalie glanced over at them and frowned, worryingly. And, before any of them could notice she was looking, she looked back down at her food.

Isaac, who was sitting between both Lupin and Natalie, observed Lupin out of the corner of his eye. Lupin was burning his eyes into his bacon and eggs.

Isaac opened his mouth, then, immediately closed it. He paused a minute to think something over, then, leaned towards Lupin. Lupin clenched his teeth and turned to look at Isaac. Harry looked over, suddenly, and watched them.

Isaac told him in a low voice, "I didn't come here to make trouble for you. Besides everyone already knows you're a werewolf. I really don't think anything I could say would really shock them."

Lupin, smiled, nervously, and nodded. Then, Isaac watched him go back to staring at his plate. Isaac eyed Snape's profile. Snape turned and locked eyes with his brother.

Harry was still watching them. He expected them to start talking, but Snape turned away and whispered something to Dumbledore. Dumbledore nodded at him. Then, Snape said something to Ashley and Gregory. Gregory looked disappointed, but Ashley was seething. Isaac and Natalie shared a sad look.

Ashley got up and Harry could see that her fists were clenched. She glared at Snape a moment longer before she turned to Natalie, who got up to hug her and Gregory. Ashley turned to Isaac and smiled. She told him something in an it should be obvious kind of way. Then, Isaac got up and hugged her too. When he turned to Gregory, Gregory said something and shrugged. They also hugged.

Ashley said something to Snape and pointed her chin at Natalie, who had looked down. When Snape responded, Ashley glared at him. Gregory just looked away and Isaac had his back to the students.

Isaac and Natalie sat back down as Ashley, Gregory, and Snape headed out. When they got to the end of the Great Hall, where Filch was, Ashley made a sudden turn to go talk to the caretaker. Gregory followed her, but Snape waited by the door.

Filch looked uncomfortable, but he smiled a little. When Snape said something to Ashley and Gregory, Gregory held up his index finger. Then, he bent down to pet Mrs. Norris, who dashed out of the room before he could touch her. Gregory stood up and Filch said something and shrugged.

When Harry saw Snape, Ashley, and Gregory finally leave the Great Hall, he turned back to his food and resumed eating.