Chapter Six

Halloween Experiences

Jane slept badly that night. For long hours she spun around in bed, dreaming of her mother and aunt taking turns, reproaching her for how foolish she had been in arguing with Professor Snape. She didn't approve of her own behaviour, too, but she didn't think she should apologize. She was almost certain that, despite the headmaster's assurances, he was a traitor and nothing good could be expected of him. Still, she could be more polite.

'You're embarrassing yourself, Jane,' her two closest relatives rebuked her unanimously in her dream. 'We, the witches Undead, don't behave like that even with our enemies.'

'Damn Undead', Jane cursed herself. She had never asked them to be born in that family, and she was half Brown anyway, no matter how much she didn't like to admit it. It was from her paternal lineage that she had inherited her unrestrained demeanour, and there was practically nothing she could do about it. Luckily for her, she was saved from this nightmare by a loud knock on the front door, which could probably have woken even a bogy. Jane woke up with true relief, realizing that it was just a dream and it would not bother her anymore at least until tonight. She reached for the nightstand where she kept her wand and glasses, and as she was setting them on her nose, she waved her wand toward the door with her free hand to break the spells.

'The door is unlocked!', she shouted. There was a slight creak of the hinges in the antechamber, then there were footsteps. She quickly tossed the blanket over her bed, holding the wand in her left hand, and stepped onto the carpet. This turned out to be her biggest mistake, because almost immediately after that she tripped over the thread, lost her balance, dropped her wand, which flew to the other end of the bedroom, and finally crashed into several thick volumes, left carelessly on the ground.

'The damn kappi take you!', she began cursing aloud as she tried to stand up to no avail.

'Associate Professor Undead, are you all right?', a thin student's voice called from across the door.

'I think so,' she said and sighed. She looked at her leg, which was entangled in the thin thread, and reached for it to free herself. 'Lily, is that you?'

'Yes. And I've brought the boys, too. All but Euphem, he went to prepare for the match.'

Jane wanted to slap her forehead. Because of her own nonsense, she had completely forgotten about the Quidditch match of the otherwise nice young man, which would take place this morning.

'Can you come for a while?' she asked at last. 'Just you.'

Lily said something to the others, then opened the inner door and stepped into the bedroom. The sight before her eyes was so comical and compromising at the same time that probably half the school, led by Peeves, would bid to see it. Associate Professor Undead, with the frame of her glasses tilted to one side and a book on elementary magic in her hand, lay helplessly on the floor in her nightgown, trying in vain to free herself from something thin that had wrapped itself around her ankle. Making a great effort not to laugh, the student approached and crouched to examine the problem.

'You just find my wand.' Jane turned to one side with an effort to point behind her. 'It fell somewhere over there.'

'Just a second, Associate Professor Undead.'

'Damn things,' Jane muttered under her breath. 'They always have an opinion of their own.'

'What, all of them?' Lily looked intrigued and stopped searching for a moment.

'Of course not. Only the ones I've spilt magic on. And I'm sometimes quite careless when I cast spells. So if something starts moving, hit its snout with a heavy object.'

'I'll remember that,' Lily smiled and continued looking for the wand. There's nothing here.'

'Look near the window then. I heard something rattle.'

'Yes, there it is. I'll give it to you right away.' Lily finally brought Jane her wand, and the problem was solved. After the thread was unwound and thrown in the rubbish, the teacher quickly pulled on her robe and the two went out to join the others.

'I didn't know you could swear like that,' Jerry said admiringly.

'You haven't heard anything yet,' Jane smiled. 'When I was with my band, we could swear for twenty minutes without repeating ourselves. But I think I've started to lose shape.'

'Half of the things you listed were brand new to me,' Seth said, while August was shaking his head in disapproval. Jane even sympathized with him a little – the boy had an almost flawless demeanour, and probably just listening to such words had a bad effect on his morale and upbringing.

'How about we start moving?' Jane suggested. 'And try not to use my expressions unless you're completely intoxicated. But, of course, you haven't heard that from me either.'

The four students laughed and headed for the door one by one. According to the newly formed tradition, the last was Lily, who had begun to become attached to her teacher. The five of them went fast through the front door, which Associate Professor Undead carefully locked with a few spells. After the accident with Professor Snape, she had become paranoid and always secured her home, whether she was inside or outside of it.

When they went outside, the teacher and her students were happy to find that the weather was perfect for Quidditch – the sun was gently warming the lawns in the yard, and there was almost no wind. They quickly mingled with the crowd that was going to the stadium and the children started talking with their classmates. Everyone was in high spirits, the students laughed, exchanged badges and discussed the chances of one or the other team winning. As the match was the first of the season, everyone was looking forward to it, and it was important, too – the teams of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were about to play.

Since she was unwilling to watch from the teacher's rostrum, Jane readily accepted the boys' offer to sit with the students. The Ravenclaw seats were in a relatively good position, high enough and easy to follow the match. Shortly before reaching the stadium, they saw two girls sitting behind a low wooden stall covered with bronze-blue scarves, badges and hats of all kinds and sizes.

'Hello, Associate Professor Undead,' one of the girls said. 'Buy something from us. Everything is half price for you, and we will give the galleons for charity. Zonko is expanding his store in Hogsmeade and we've decided to help him.'

The teacher smiled at the girls and looked at the stall. Meanwhile, Lily and the three boys were waiting for her a little to the side, as they already had scarves.

'Christina and Kalina, my most exemplary third-year students', she praised them. 'I guess you've used the waterproof spell for the hats. And the one we learned the previous lesson in the club to make the badge figures move.'

'How did you guess?' The two third-year students wondered, visibly flattered.

'Let's just say I have a keen eye for spells. I'm thinking of getting a scarf with a tassel, a hat and a badge. So one of each. And I will pay the full price, I don't accept objections.'

The salesgirls conceded but insisted on giving their teacher an extra badge, on which the team had been photographed during training, with all the balls in the air. Finally, Jane thanked them and went to the boys and Lily to continue up to the rostrum.

'I'm glad you agreed to come, Associate Professor Undead," Lily said cheerfully as they finally made their way to the front row of the Ravenclaw rostrum.

'Hey, I came to see Euphem. If he wins the match, I will excuse him for not having homework on Monday. For the fourth time.' Jane sighed and sat down as she wrapped the new scarf around her neck. The place was full of students, wandering around the benches and talking loudly to each other, so the two had to shout to be heard.

'Fourth time?', exclaimed the dark-haired August, suddenly raising his head from a notebook written in small runes. 'I can't believe how lazy this chap is. The other day, Jerry offered him to become a model. With those blond curls of his, he will be able to make a living just by smiling from the covers of magazines.'

'August, can you stop talking about Euphem's curls for a while and come see my Arithmancy homework?' A short plumpy boy, sitting on a bench at the bottom tried to outshout the noise, most likely coming from Gryffindor's rostrum.

'Yes, if you like him so much, invite him on a date,' said another boy, who was sitting next to the first one, staring at his textbook.

'Come on, come on, joke. Just know that tomorrow I may have gone out with Euphem while you write your homework.'

'Don't do this to us, August!' the plumpy boy replied with a laugh. 'We'll fix you a date with a girl. Just don't desert us like that.'

Jane looked back to see who the two boys were and, not recognizing them, turned to Lily. 'Do you know who the two calligraphers on the back bench are? I know them by face, but I'll die if I remember their names.'

'Ah, these are Viburnum Vex and Kurt McNair, they're always doing their homework at the last minute. The prefects are very annoyed with them. It's good that August took them under his wing, otherwise they wouldn't have finished even their first year.'

The game hadn't started yet, so Jane allowed herself to take off her glasses for a moment to clean them.

'I guess there's no point in reprimanding them,' she said thoughtfully as she adjusted the frame of her nose.

'There definitely isn't. Not that they won't hear you, it's just that there will be no effect whatsoever.'

'Sorry to interrupt." Seth had approached them in the meantime and cleared his throat. 'But I wanted to ask how did Professor Flitwick take the news that Lily would now be living in our room?'

'He said he would close his eyes until you start wreaking havoc. Still, it is not forbidden for girls to go to the boys' bedrooms.'

'And what exactly does it mean not to wreak havoc?'

'To not make much noise, to maintain a reasonable order inside… Also not to give concerts and gather all your fans in the room.'

'Fans?', Lily asked in disbelief. 'Considering that now even the cats run away while we play…'

'Yes, especially when Lily's training for her solo,' her friend teased.

'I'm just warning you. You can do whatever you want, but if something like that happens, you will suffer the consequences.'

The teams were already out in the field, so the three interrupted their conversation and adjusted to see more comfortably. The team captains shook hands, Madam Hooch blew the whistle, and the fourteen brooms flew into the air. All the Ravenclaws rose to their feet to applaud, and even Jane got up with them. The group, which until a minute ago had been writing homework in the back row, was now standing in the front, whistling so loudly that even Gryffindors could probably hear them from the opposite side of the stadium.

'This volume amplifying spell is so good', Seth smiled, now standing right behind Lily.

'Who taught it to you?' Jane jumped in her seat.

'Ah, August read about it in a book. It took us three days to make it according to the description. It was pretty incomplete, you know. Sometimes we use it when we play outside.'

'I'll pretend I didn't hear anything. Be careful not to use it to harass your classmates.'

'Don't worry, Madam Undead. We'll break it now, we were just trying it out.' The black-haired vocalist Jerry Hammer had approached them unnoticed. 'And when we play in our room or the Common Room, we apply it the other way around. So no one outside can hear.'

'I'm counting on you,' Jane smiled and sat back down. Her students were finally beginning to show some responsibility, and that couldn't help but please her.

At that moment, Ravenclaw scored their first goal and the whole stands erupted in applause. The game was getting more and more interesting, and the commentary's droning voice could be heard from somewhere.

'Roger Davis with the Quaffle… Oh, he dropped it.'

'Can't she talk normally for at least five minutes?' Jerry protested aloud. 'She will ruin the entire game.'

'I can't stand her', Lily added. 'It's good that I left at least her room, from second to fifth year with her is quite enough. Please someone conjure some earplugs for me.'

'Here you are.' August reached out to her. 'Associate Professor Undead, do you want a pair?'

'No, thank you, Jerry. I've no problem with that. Of all the ruckus, this is the thing that irritates me the least.'

'I envy you,' August sighed. 'Mates, for you?'

'Give them here and don't explain yourself. We'll follow the result on the board.'

After everyone put a plug in each ear, the students visibly calmed down.

'Let's hope this slattern Cho catches the Snitch before Potter', Lily said before putting on her second earplug. Jane wanted to ask her why she didn't like the Seeker but decided the question could wait and leaned against the railing to watch the game. At that moment, Euphem finally caught the Quaffle and flew to the goalposts with dizzying speed, chased by one of the Bludgers.

'Come on, Euphem!' Lily shouted loudly to Jane's right.

'Euphem Forest with the Quaffle.' There was even a hint of excitement in the commentator's voice. 'He's gaining speed. God, how fast is that chap. And he's pretty handsome, too.'

'Luna Lovegood, comment on the substance', scolded Professor McGonagall, who was sitting next to her.

'Excuse me, Professor. So as I said, Forrest is holding the Quaffle, the Bludger is catching up with him and flies past his left shoe. Good thing it didn't knock him down.'

The lass named Luna continued to admire the Chaser aloud and got so distracted that she even forgot to announce the goal for Ravenclaw. Jane stood up even before the others to applaud enthusiastically. The students around her clapped and shouted, the rostrum was full of excitement.

Soon everyone sat down and the teacher leaned on the railing. A cloud passed in front of the sun and covered it just as she surveyed the teachers' high rostrum. Almost all the teachers had gathered there, even Professor Snape had come to watch the game. Which was a really good reason for Jane to sit with the students, not the teachers. She didn't want to exchange angry looks with him right now when her students could win one of their most important Quidditch matches. Maybe she would even take a walk after it with the Ravenclaws who weren't that close to the players. She had noticed that when the weather was nice, her students often went outside, carrying books and textbooks under their arms. Everyone's attention was riveted on the players and the field, so she thought it appropriate to discuss an issue with Lily.

'Lily, can I have a minute?' Jane patted her gently on the shoulder, and the student seemed to understand as she pulled the earplugs from her ears and nodded. As she wondered how to start the conversation, Gryffindor managed to score their first goal and their entire audience began chanting in approval. Ravenclaw's Guard, named Lazarus, didn't seem to have very quick reflexes, so if an opponent Chaser managed to send the ball through the goal rings, he was almost certain to score.

'Come on, Roger!' Lily shouted after the Ravenclaw Chaser had taken the Quaffle.

Jane watched as the boy reached almost to the goalposts, but a randomly flying Bludger hit him on the arm and to the great disappointment of his fans, he dropped the ball.

'I was wondering,' Jane began carefully. 'Has anything unusual happened to you lately?'

'Unusual?', Lily repeated. 'I'm a witch, what could be more unusual than that?!'

'Let's say that there are some skills that not all witches and wizards have. Animagi, Metamorphmagi and the sort.'

'I haven't noticed myself becoming an animal', Lily said at last. 'Although when I was little, I really wanted to.'

At that moment, both fandoms had sharpened their attention, because Cho and Potter rushed somewhere, competing with each other. However, it turned out to be a false alarm and Jane returned to the conversation.

'I meant something different. Have you ever, for example, been able to read the thoughts of others?'

'No, never.' Lily shook her head.

'Strange. I was willing to bet it was the other way around. What about guessing people's moods? Do you manage to finish someone's sentence in your mind before he says it?'

'Well, it's not that hard. Of course, it had happened to me.'

'So there's still a possibility.'

'Possibility for what?'

'You see, there is a magic skill called Legilimency, which is innate rather than teachable. I think you could have it.'

'I read about it,' Lily said after a moment's thought. 'Isn't it something that appears once every hundred years?'

'I'm not an expert, but I think it's much more common. I know people who have it.'

Jane felt she needed to say something more convincing, but she decided to be careful. Not that she didn't trust Lily, but it might not have been wise to talk about such matters in the middle of half the Ravenclaw House, not that anyone was listening. At that time, Gryffindor scored a second goal and Ravenclaws began resenting openly. The score was a draw, and if Potter caught the Snitch, Gryffindor would surely win.

'Associate Professor Undead, do you know about the Halloween party?' Lily had decided to change the subject to something more ordinary.

'I don't remember anyone mentioning it to me.'

'Professor Dumbledore has invited a goblin orchestra this year, he's asked those of us in the magic club to help with the decorating, and everyone will be in costumes. I think it will be fun. Are you coming?'

'Why not?!', Jane replied after a moment's thought. She loved Halloween and when she had the opportunity, she celebrated it with pleasure. She frowned at the thought that she would have to put up with Professor Snape sitting next to her for several hours, but it was too low a price for an otherwise pleasant evening. Although she couldn't complain about the lack of holidays in the last few months – first the ball at the beginning of the school year, then Professor Flitwick's birthday, which had taken place about a week ago in the teacher's room; the teaching profession offered many pleasant experiences. 'Do you need any help with decorating? At one time I could conjure quite believable bats.'

'I think you should ask Professor Dumbledore. He is the one who organizes the holiday.'

Jane was reluctant to meet with the headmaster right now on any issues, but she might be able to ask him some time while they were eating together at the High Table. The annoying buzzing voice of the commentator, who didn't know whether she sympathized more with her own house or with Gryffindor, came to the fore again and apologizing, Lily hurried to put her earplugs back on.

The match had got a bit uninteresting for the teacher, as nothing significant had happened on the field for a long time, so she closed her eyes and leaned against the railing in front of her. After a while, she tried to look straight down, but she felt dizzy and forced herself to look at a tree on the other side of the Forbidden Forest for the next few seconds. She had read in a Muggle book that if anyone was afraid of heights, he should avoid looking straight down, so she reprimanded herself for her recklessness.

As she played with the little tassel that hung from the edge of her scarf, Jane wondered when her life at Hogwarts had become so confused. "And when was it not confused?" She wondered. She remembered only one such period since she was no longer a child – when she was with the band. That part with the Order of the Phoenix still irritated her – she wanted to refuse the principal, but something stopped her. And the fact that she couldn't understand what was going on in her own head irritated her even more. How unfortunate that one cannot apply Legilimency to oneself, she sighed.

But it was not good to wilt and feel sorry for herself in front of the children here. So Jane hurried to banish those thoughts and focus on the game. She opened her eyes wide and looked around. Down in the field, Roger Davis was shouting something at Lazarus, who was guiltily squeezing his head between his shoulders. Apparently, he had allowed Gryffindor to score another ten points, so the whole team excluding Cho Chan, who had other things to watch out for, was both down-in-the-mouth and angry at the poor boy.

'Catch the ball at least once, Lazarus!', one of the Beaters shouted. 'Are you so crippled in both your hands?'

'I'm trying!', Lazarus defended himself. 'But it goes so fast every time.'

Gryffindor's rostrum burst into laughter as the Ravenclawers muttered disapprovingly. Only Lily and her boys had not yet figured out what was going on because of the earplugs. It was practically certain that this was the last match for the Guard. Jane wanted to help him with a spell, but it wouldn't be fair. She thought seriously about it for a while, then dismissed the idea – the boy had to learn to judge what was working for him and what wasn't.

The score was 100 to 30 for Gryffindor and the Ravenclaw fandom began to despair. Everyone knew Potter was a much better Seeker than Cho, and his broom was newer. But still, no one dared to leave, because the students took loyalty to their house very seriously. However, fewer and fewer people watched what was really going on in the field, even the boys, who were initially writing their homework, returned to this activity.

That's why no one noticed the Bludger that was about to overthrow Potter from his broom and almost hit his teammate in the head. However, Jane watched with interest. Madam Hooch looked disapprovingly at the two Ravenclaw Beaters, who, however, were at the other end of the field and apparently had nothing to do with that. At that moment, Davis had managed to score a new goal for Ravenclaw, and the crowd all around Jane seemed to wake up from deep sleep, immediately jumped to their feet and began chanting.

At that moment, Potter, who had somewhat lost his previous arrogant demeanour, looked around cautiously and seemed to have temporarily forgotten about the Snitch. For her part, Cho, who was flying around the stadium on her broom, seemed to have noticed something because she was heading for one of the stands at the maximum possible speed. Potter had apparently noticed the Snitch, too, as he rushed to overtake her, holding his broom with both hands. For a while, the two flew almost side to side, but the Golden Snitch had gone away. Disappointed, both fandoms sat back in their seats. There was a brief struggle for the vacant benches, someone pushed Jane, and she worked hard not to fall on those already seated. When she finally managed to look at the field, Cho Chan was flying to the top of the teacher's rostrum. Potter followed her belatedly, narrowing his eyes in the direction she was headed. One thing she couldn't deny the Seeker – her eyes were really eagle-like, though her broom wasn't particularly new. The Ravenclaws rose to their feet again and waited breathlessly to see what would happen. Cho and Potter practically collided in the air, then parted their brooms with difficulty and descended. When they finally stepped on the grass, everyone could see that Cho was holding the Snitch.

Madam Hooch blew the whistle for the end of the match and both teams also went down on the grass. With rapturous shouts, Ravenclaws poured onto the field to greet their players. There were screams, songs were sung, fans hugged and carried the players above their heads – there was a complete commotion on the field. Jane went down with the students and, without much thinking, hugged everyone on the team one by one. Even Lazarus was happy and drowned with attention because he had managed to save the last goal. Gradually, Ravenclaws began leaving the field and headed toward the castle, where they would celebrate all day. Jane lined up at the end of the procession, right next to Euphem and his friends, and walked with them. There was no point in looking for another company – the whole Ravenclaw House had gathered around the players, and the students didn't seem bored with her presence. Jane took one last look around, and just then she noticed Professor Snape frowning at her from the teacher's rostrum.

"Insufferable man", she thought to herself, "What does he think of me? That I am likeminded with the kindergarten children since I am here with the students?" She looked at him defiantly, but he didn't take his eyes off her. "Well, let him think whatever he wants, I won't deal with him now." She resolutely turned her back to the rostrum and grabbed the shoulders of Lily and some other Ravenclaw, filling the last row of merry, chanting, and singing students.

Halloween was getting closer with each passing day. Overwhelmed by a festive mood, Jane decided not to think about the Order of the Phoenix for a while and rushed to help with the decoration. Although most things would be done just before the holiday, she and Professor Flitwick, along with the senior members of the club, had work for at least a week before the date. Whether they were conjuring the bats they gathered in an unused classroom on the first floor, or making pumpkin lanterns and special holiday garlands, the two teachers and the students worked enthusiastically. The day before the holiday, all the items filled two small classrooms, and there was a separate one for the bats. One of the students had brought a camera, so the decorating group was immortalized in a photo in the bat room, after which they photographed the two rooms with accessories. It would be an interesting holiday.

Finally, All Hallows' Eve came and the Great Hall was festively decorated. Hundreds of bats fluttered in the air almost as if they were alive, and all the students and even some of the teachers were dressed in holiday costumes. Only Jane Undead approached the teachers' table with her hands in her jeans pockets, showing off her 'Black Witches' T-shirt. The other teachers looked at her in amazement, and only Professor Dumbledore decided to tell her, 'An interesting costume, Jane. But shouldn't one today disguise oneself as a magical creature or something?'

For the first time in a week, Undead looked at the headmaster openly and even smiled at him. 'I've been pretending to be so many things I'm not for so long, that I decided to spare myself for at least one day.' Her smile became dreamy. 'And today I'm just Jane from Kent.'

The other teachers approved of the idea. Only Severus Snape was chewing a piece of pumpkin pie with his back turned to her, so Jane wished he would choke. There was a joyful noise in the hall, the Ravenclaw students competing to show off their strange holiday inventions – walking paper men with pumpkins instead of heads, singing bats and pumpkins, meowing Halloween cats and others that had been made especially for the occasion or simply could not find their place among the decoration. Lily Smith enchanted colourful garlands in the air, and the others blew smuggled or hand-made whistles. Rejoicing at the radical change in the behaviour of their house, Undead and Flitwick watched them enthusiastically and discussed aloud the talents of their students.

After the festive dinner, the fun continued with a dance party accompanied by the goblin orchestra. The tables were pushed against the walls, and the open space was used for dancing. On the first ballad, everyone was dancing, and the Great Hall looked extremely cramped. Professor Dumbledore had invited Professor McGonagall to dance, Snape danced with Sprout, Associate Professor Undead with Professor Flitwick, even Hagrid was trying to dance, lifting the small Divination teacher Professor Trelawney half a meter above the ground.

When the first dance was over, most of the teachers hurried to sit down, and only Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall remained on the dance floor. Jane Undead was sitting at the end of the table as far away from Snape as possible, staring dreamily at the holiday decorations and the pairs of dancing students. She remembered another such ball in this same hall many, many years ago. Of course, she was much younger and more cheerful then, and there were at least a few boys vying for her attention. At one point, Frank even had to pretend to be her boyfriend to drive away a particularly persistent suitor. Engulfed in nostalgia, she didn't notice that the principal and his deputy had stopped dancing, and Dumbledore argued quietly with Snape.

'Go and invite the girl to a dance, Severus', he urged. 'Now is your time. I'm old, so is Flitwick, and Jane needs company her age. You, too, I don't remember you having any fun at all since the celebration of the beginning of the school year.'

'I have no desire, Professor," Snape said sulkily. 'Besides, you know I don't like her. I told you that her only purpose is to use and manipulate us. By the way, like everyone in her house,' he added quietly. 'They always have their hidden goals. I don't see why I'd want to hang around her. Thank you, but no.'

'Nonsense, Severus', the headmaster said and went on as if he hadn't been interrupted. 'Janie is a good girl, and you're just making this up to justify you being sour.'

'Come on, Severus', Professor Flitwick said. 'What are you still doing here, get up!'

The commotion had already caught Undead's attention, and with laughter and a premonition of what was to follow, she watched as the two professors pushed Snape, who was pulling and frowning, to her part of the table. When he reached her, he gave her a hand in a theatrical manner and said, 'Madam.'

Jane looked both amused and utterly annoyed at the grotesque expression on the face of her most hated colleague. Unfortunately, she couldn't refuse, but she still glanced at the other two professors. Dumbledore did look her straight in the eye, and Flitwick stared pleadingly at her, so Jane just sighed and resigned herself.

'Professor', she said, taking Snape's hand.

Dumbledore and Flitwick looked at each other jubilantly, and Professor McGonagall, who was just sitting at the table, stared in disbelief at the strange sight – Snape and Undead hand in hand, making their way to the centre of the Great Hall.

'Albus,' she said to the headmaster. 'What is this strange theatre down on the dance floor?'

'Our colleagues have decided to have fun, Minerva,' Dumbledore said, winking at Flitwick. 'Apparently, the young people like each other.'

'They're a nice couple', Philus Flitwick supplemented.

Professor McGonagall was suspicious but said nothing. The scenes from a week ago, when Undead and Snape were walking down the halls, not without exchanging a few epithets, came to her mind. She looked at the students down on the dance floor, staring at them so startled that they forgot to shut their mouths. The two professors faced each other and, touching only their fingertips, began moving slowly in a circle.

'Charming suit, Miss Ravendale. A lovely outfit, especially for a peasant girl,' Snape said mockingly. 'Is the tailor in your village also a publican? The seams probably resemble his gait in the evening after the obligatory drinking with clients.'

Well, apparently Professor Snape hadn't wasted his time studying her story until her early childhood, since he even knew the name of the village where she had lived with her mother. However, Undead knew how to defend himself, and when she thought it was safe and there was no one around to hear her, she said, 'And your robe must obviously resemble the colour of your favourite potion, Severus. Not that it helps, judging by the state of your hair. Maybe this is the reason for your constant bad mood – potions don't seem to be the answer to everything.'

There were a few moments of silence, during which Professor Snape's face was getting more and more the rich poisonous green of his robe. After taking a breath, he replied chillingly, 'And as for your way of teaching – of which not one or two students complain – I think it would be difficult to find a wizard less interested in protective spells than you. Unless, of course, we search the entire countryside.'

Jane had long suspected that she wasn't very popular with Slytherin House. Whether it was because she had taken, without any idea at the time, their Head's preferred subject, or simply Slytherins had a different attitude toward protection against the dark arts, she didn't know. But she didn't quite like the reminder that the students in this house, unlike those in the other three, didn't appreciate her at all.

'With you and your Death Eater friends on my heels, I need to use more offensive magic. One day we will meet again and then I will show you a few new ones,' she finally answered. She even told the truth or at least part of it. She hadn't met the Death Eaters in a long time, and she hoped she wouldn't see them soon. A witch alone couldn't do much more against such scum than send spells in a random direction and run fast.

'I'm looking forward to it', Snape said through clenched teeth. At that moment, the music stopped and they both moved as far away from each other as possible. Then, on the pretext that they were tired, they left the party almost at the same time, relieved that the headmaster hadn't yet thought of chaining them to each other. It was a pity to leave the celebration, but neither Jane nor Severus intended to stay any longer in each other's company.

When she finally reached her room a few floors higher, Undead, quite nervous, swung open the window of her unventilated room. She was both enraged at having to endure Professor Snape's unpleasant company for whole ten minutes, and incredibly relieved that she could get out of it so easily. After a while, she picked up her guitar and played a favourite slow song, which gradually calmed her down and she even began enjoying the rest of her happy Snapeless evening.

Down in the dungeon, also quite nervous, Severus Snape was preparing a sleeping potion. "What is everyone thinking?", he muttered under his breath as he powdered a piece of the horn of a bicorniger. He was seething with rage because he couldn't figure out who he was angrier with – the Professors Dumbledore and Flitwick, who forced him to invite "that Undead", as he called her most often, to dance, with himself, for complying with them, or with Jane herself because she didn't refuse him. As he cut the asphodel root, he recalled an old incident from his years with the Death Eaters.

One evening the Dark Lord returned triumphantly to headquarters and said with satisfaction, 'Another of our enemies has been removed.'

Earlier in the evening, he had gone to visit Mrs Undead of the Order of the Phoenix, who had been betrayed by her own husband. Everyone was silent as he recounted how cowardly she prayed for her life, and the other Death Eaters were dying of laughter, especially the husband in question, whose name, according to Snape's memories, was John Brown. For some reason, Severus didn't like the story at all, and for the first time wondered what would he have been if he had not become a Death Eater. Would life be pleasant, would there be happy moments? The Death Eaters were such pigs, and dumb ones, on top of that, something Severus had a hard time with. At that moment he stared into the Dark Lord's eyes and stole a small piece of his memory without the Lord noticing.

Snape saw the defeated Susan Undead laughing with her whole throat, despite the wand pointed at her chest.

'Why are you laughing, woman?', the Dark Lord asked. 'Don't you realize you're going to die now?'

Although there was no wind, Susan's hair fluttered and her dark eyes gleamed with ominous flames.

'You must be very sad,' she told him proudly, 'because you can't even touch my most precious possession. She is safe in Hogwarts and there will come a time when she will avenge me. And tell that dog, my husband, that I will wait for him in Hell.'

Then a ray of green light flashed, and the woman slumped breathlessly on the floor. Did her daughter know about this, Snape thought absently. For a moment the idea crossed his mind that the daughter of such a woman could not be a spy for Lord Voldemort, but he quickly drove it away. Little Miss Brown had certainly followed in her father's footsteps, and the stories of her encounters with the Death Eaters had no doubt been fabricated. He had to keep an eye on her since the principal was so trusting.

Severus focused on his decoction but soon realized he didn't need it. The little annoying creature couldn't cause him more trouble than a mosquito. He was pleased to find that the melody of his favourite song was coming from afar, soon calmed down completely, abandoned his potion, and, blissfully relaxed on his bed with a black canopy, quickly drifted off.