In Need

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The Order Meets

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny heard more people arriving downstairs. The young group were now all official members of the Order, and were allowed to participate in the meetings even though they were still in school. Voldemort was strong, and he was gathering more followers daily - some still students at Hogwarts themselves. Power was compelling, and Voldemort’s promise of power had drawn a surprising number of new recruits to him to get the Dark Mark.

Harry and his friends’ participation in the Order had met with protest from some of the members, especially Professor Snape who despised what he regarded as Harry’s special treatment and constantly being excused from meddling where other students would be punished. Even he had finally (and grudgingly) admitted though, that Harry’s role in the fight against Voldemort was as active and important as many of the adult wizards involved. Since whatever Harry did naturally extended to Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the Weasley twins, they were included as well.


Harry led the group down the stairs and nearly ran into Prsor sor Snape’s tall and gaunt form striding in from the hallway. “Watch it, Potter,” he growled.


The youngsters made their way out to the back yard, followed by Professor Snape, his black cape swirling behind his long strides. He was clearly annoyed that the meeting was to be held out of doors. He was used to working in the orderly dark and coolness of his dungeons, and found the bright evening with its warmth, wind, birds, and insects too distracting and uncomfortable. Also, while he knew that the place was protected by many charms, he simply felt safer under a roof. He had intelligence to share with them that had been difficult to collect ae wae was tired and ached in most of his muscles. All of that, combined with having to meet with the very group of students he found most irritating before they would actually be forced together at school, made him even surlier than usual.


Snape approached the long table made up of several smaller tables arranged end to end in the garden and set two bottles of potion down next to Remus. “These should tide you over for a while,” he said flatly. “Try not to eat anyone until I can make some more for you.”


He looked at the table and tried to find a place to sit that would put him next to the least annoying people.


Scanning the people gathered there, he saw the pretty new face among them. Judging by the animated attention he was giving her, Severus guessedt tht the owner of said face was Bill Weasley’s girlfriend. Rolling his eyes, Snape walked to the empty chair across from her, finding the prospect of watching the older Weasley boy’s advances preferable to sitting next to Potter, the only other open chair.


Megan had changed into periwinkle blue witch’s robes, removed her jewels, and now wore fai fair hair loose in long waves down her back. Butterflies landed briefly on her hair as they made their rounds of the flowers in the garden. It was really too much - Severus thought that she looked like a refugee decoration off a little girl\'s birthday cake and was impatiently trying to comprehend what business a sugary little mannekin like this had in being present at a secret meeting of a secret Order trying to do serious work.


He was just about to ask that very questihen hen Arthur Weasley stood to introduce him to the young woman. “Severus Snape, allow me to introduce Megan Waters.”


Megtoodtood and smiled as she reached out her hand toward Severus Snape. She turned out to be almost as tall as he was, both of them standing higher than most of the others. Neither smiling back at her nor offering his own hand in return, Snape stared coldly at her and narrowed his eyes in recognition of her name. His jaw muscles tightened with his curt reply. “Professor Waters. I heard you would be joining our staff.”


He looked dourly upon yet another teacher to takat hat he had hoped would finally be his place in teaching defense against the dark arts classes. He had been over the issue with Dumbledore countless times by now, and his anger and indignation about it had only increased over time. The headmaster of Hogwarts seemed insistent upon trailing a parade of nincompoops and charlatans through a position that *presumably* ought to be preparing the students to competently *defend* themselves, but which had been so consistently lackthatthat many students failed their defense OWLS quite spectacularly, and those who had succeeded the best had actually formed their own groups to learn independently.


“Please let me know if I may be of any assistance to you in your tenure,” he said coolly to Professor Waters, and sat down with his back to her, looking toward the head of the table where Moody had called the meeting to order.


Megan’s smile faded and she looked at him curiously. Professor Dumbledord tod told her about Severus Snape and prepared her a bit for the hard feelings Snape would most likely have toward her, but it was still rather unnerving to see it happen in person. Having just come from a social set that would have fainted cold at the sight of this Severus Snape and the effortless vitriol he appeared to be able to exude from his very person. She sighed with the realization that things were going to be quite different now and that she had better try hard to make the best of them if she going to successfully re-enter this world from which she had been long absent - even if that meant trying to be civil with the obnoxious potions master.


As the meeting wore on, Megan had a chance to study him. Underneath his fatigue and aggravation, she saw strong intelligence and self-possession. As he spoke about the information he had gathered, and contributed to the plans of the Order, her interest in him grew. He listened carefully to all of their questions, considered them, and offered wise insight to solutions in a deep, silken tone of voice.


When everyone was updated, the new assignments planned, and the next meeting time set, Molly Weasley bustled off to the kitchen to levitate the food out to the tables for dinner.


Megan glanced over at Snape and noticed that he had briefly put his forehead into his hand and closed his eyes. When he noticed that the places for dinner were being set, he stood up and seemed to make ready to leave.


“You won’t grace us with your presence for dinner, Severus? I’m so sorry to hear that.” said Lupin rather nastily.


Snape replied evenly, “I think not. Some of us have work to do and cannot waste time having dinner parties.”


Megan did not want to arrive at Hogwarts on the bad side of Snape, which she realized herself now to be. From everything he had told her about him, Albus Dumbledore had made perfectly clear that it was better to be on Snape\'s good side than not. Severus stood up to leave, his black cloak swirling around higs. gs. Megan caught his eye and hurried over to him.


“Please stay for dinner with us,” she said to him. “I would like it very much if you could stay, even for a little while. And I can see that you are tired.”


Severus was surprised at her words - no one usually tried very hard to make him stay, except Dumbledore who was not present tonight. He supposed that she wasing ing to make a good impression at Hogwarts by being nice to the poor nasty potions master. He could read the truth in other people’s eyes, so when his deep black eyes briefly searched her light blue ones, he was surprised to find only kindness looking back at him. Her face searched his for an answer as she waited for him to speak. Taken somewhat aback by her friendliness, especially after his gruffness with her earlier, he simply looked back at her for a moment.


“Please,” she said to him, “It would be very nice to have a chance to speak further with you. It has been a long time since I lived in England, and it would be nice to know someone that I will be working with.”


As she spoke to Severus, Megan reached out and lightly touched his arm in what was for her - he supposed - a casual gesture. People did not touch him and he generally preferred it that way, since the majority of the physical contact he had was at the receiving end of someone else’s anger. Megan seemed, however, to be an exception - in just that small gesture, she conveyed warmth and interest. Even for as hostile as he had been before, she was still trying to be friendly. Her sincere interest in him started to have the pleasant effect of making him only somewhat grouchy instead of downright beastly.


“Very well, I will stay a short while. Thank you.” Severus swept to her side and deftly held out her chair - before a somewhat flustered Bill Weasley thought to do it - and then returned to his place at the table across from her.


Harry tutted in annoyance when he saw that Snape was staying. He thought that they would have the rest of the evening Snape-free, and now here he was staying to supper. But at least, he noted, their potions master seemed to be in a less vile than usual mood, and Professor Waters seemed to be occupying his attention. With a twinge of guilt, Harry admitted to himself that he was glad to have her there as a buffer - at least there was someone at the table that Snape disliked more than Harry.


While there were many good reasons Dumbledore had for keeping him in the potions master position, it was no secret that Snape always harbored a grudge against the current Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for occupying the position that he had coveted for so long. As the two professors became absorbed in conversation at the other end of the table, Harry relaxed and went back to talking with his friends.

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The meal was good and the people gathered there were content as they ate. The twilight faded away into darkness, and they all stayed around the table talking in the pleasant evening breeze. Hedwig flew happily around snapping at insects, glad to be free of the confinement of her cage that she had to endure during her time at the Dursley’s.


Snape watched Megan quietly as Bill told a funny story. He felt much more relaxed than he had earlier when she was introduced to hiShe She laughed heartily at Bill’s stories and the young man seemed to be completely taken with her. Not that Severus could blame him, if he was going to be honest with himself. True, she was quite pretty to look at and her figure strongly hinted at the body veiled underneath her robes. Beyond that, though, he had begun to get a sense that her poise and intelligence was much more than he had given her credit for in his first impression - he guessed that most people simply ped ped at her looks and was mildly annoyed that he had been distracted enough by the facade to do so too. Over the course of dinner, she revealed herself to be quite confident and well-connected for someone her age, and he wondered why he had never heard of her before. He watched her touch Bill on the arm as she laughed and got the impression that it wouldn\'t beg beg before these two were an item.


To his surprise, the thought gave him a twinge of loneliness and something approaching sadness. It was rare that Severus Snape thought about romance or relationships. True, he had intimate companionship whenever he wanted it, but it was always purely physical and usually with dark witches, as the others were afraid of or repulsed by him.


He had done so many terrible things as a death eater that it had become a self- imposed barrier to being close with someone good and untouched by the darkness. He saw constant affirmation of what he believed was his untouchable status by the distance others kept from him. It had led him to the conclusion long ago that love was not for him. The logic was circular, but it made sense to him and he accepted it as fact.


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Severus Snape was interrupted from his musings as Megan turned away from her conversation with Bill and faced him again. “I have a favor to ask of you,” she said.


Raising an eyebrow, Snape asked, “What is it that you want from me?”


\"Professor Dumbledore speaks highly of your Occlumency skills and told me that you have helped Harry learn it. If you could, I would like to practice with you to keep my own ability honed and possibly strengthened.\" She saw his dubious look and hastily added, \"You see, I’ve been schooled in magic by private tutors, and Albus seemed to think it would be a good idea for me to work with you to see where I\'m at.\"


Snape folded his long fingers together and looked at her over them. The work he had to do, both for school and spying for the Order, was already often testing his limits. After a moment, he spoke. “I am afraid that my schedule is quite full. I do not think that I will have the time to carry the additional weight of teachers who require remedial lessons.”


Ignoring his dig, Megan persisted. “Professor, I know that you’re busy - would it be possible to meet for, say, a limit of five sessiwhenwhenever it would fit in best with your schedule?”


Curiosity and the nagging feeling that Albus would make him do it anyway got the better of him, and he relented. They arranged to meet after she had settled into her quarters at Hogwarts, giving them time before classes began. As he got up to leave, she thanked him warmly and shook his hand as she said goodbye. Her blue eyes twinkled as she smiled at him, and they widened as their hands made contact. At first he assumed that she was flinching from his touch - she was not the first to do so after all, but looking into her eyes, he saw…was it…?

Most likely it was wishful thinking of someone lonely trying to console himself with boyish fantasies, but he could swear he saw a flash of attraction in her eyes at that moment of connection. It was ridiculous to think so, and he was annoyed with himself for apparently being so desperate that his imagination could turn a friendly gesture into something more. He willed himself to keep walking forward and not be a fool and look back again at something that wasn’t really there.


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As Snape walked out of the garden, the group of youngsters did not notice him because they were huddled together talking intently about something else at their end of the table.


“It *has* to be her,” said Hermione excitedly. “Her picture was in just last month’s issue of my fashion magazine, on the trendsetters pages. She’s in there from time to time, always at a big deal fundraiser or party. You know, high society crowd.”


“What, she’s a muggle then?” asked Ron.


\"Well,” Harry replied, “or maybe muggle born like Hermione. But could that really be the same person? I mean, maybe you have her mixed up with someone who looks a lot like her.”


In reply, Hermione jumped up and called over her shoulder, “I’ll be right back. I have the magazine in my bag upstairs. Couldn’t do my homework on the muggle train, so I picked it up to pass the time.”


When she returned, they huddled around the magazine as Hermione flipped through the pages. “See?” she hissed to them. “Here she is!”


Following where her finger pointed, they all looked down, looked at Megan to compare, and looked back at the picture. Sure enough, the photo looked identical to their new professor, except the picture showed her having dark hair instead of the light blonde that it was now. Although the muggle photo was not animated, it nonetheless gave the impression that their Professor was having a terrific time at a party. She stood in the middle of a group of people, laughing and holding her glass up as if she was toasting the camera. She was dressed in a trendy (and rather revealing) outfit, and on each side of her was a handsome young man with his arm over her shoulder.


“But wait a minute,” said Harry. “Look here, the name’s different.”


Sure enough, when they looked at the caption, they saw that the person in the picture was called Kelly, not Megan. The last name matched though.


“Maybe she has a twin or a sister that looks a lot like her,” suggested Ron.


They were so engrossed in their puzzle that they all jumped when a new voice behind them spoke up and said, “Nope, it’s really me.”


Their heads whipped around to look at Professor Waters standing behind them. They all stammered out explanations or apologies at the same time, feeling embarrassed to be caught talking about her like that. Fortunately, she was smiling good humouredly at them. “Really, it’s okay. I hadn’t expected you to figure it out so quickly, but your attention to detail seems to be as precise as your reputation would warrant, Miss Granger.”


Hermione blushed and then asked Professor Waters, “So then how can your identity be a secret if we found it out so quickly? I mean, what about keeping muggles from knowing that you’re a witch, especially if you are wellwn?”wn?”


“Well,” Megan replied, “it’s true that I do have to take some extra precautions, but it’s really not too much different than what you or Harry would have to do when you go back to spend time in the muggle world. My main protection from discovery is really pretty simple. My name is charmed so that only peoplspecspecifically tell can actually know the connection. If people try to tell each other about my identity without my consent, the information sometimes comes off as coincidence, but in most cases is understood as sheer nonsense. The only reason you can even believe it now is because I confirmed it for you.”


“How do you mean?” asked Hermione.


“Give it a try - it’s easier seen than explained. Try to tell Molly Weasley what you just figured out. Only as a test - I don’t give you my consent to do it.”


“Alright, I’ll try it,” said Ron.


He walked over to where his mother was talking to Remus. “Hey Mum, can I talk to you for a minute?”


“What is it, dear?” asked Molly, looking surprised to nternterrupted.


“Professor Waters is hugga wugga wugga,” said Ron, getting a very peculiar look on his face, “ - then she - in the picture didderdidderdidder - it was - raaaarrrrr…”


The words that he wanted to say jumped around in his mouth like a fish out of water. Mrs. Weasley and Remus looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Ron, we’re talking over here. You kids quit playing around now and try to think about something constructive for a change.”


Ignoring Molly\'s suggestion to be constructive, the entire group of Hogwarts students gathered at the end of the table were now laughing and busy trying to imitate Ron. The few remaining days of summer would be all too brief as it was, without troubling themselves over school already.


Megan smiled and returned to her place next to Bill, handing him the butterbeer she\'d gone to get for him in the first place and settling into conversation that kept them up later than the rest.


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Thanks to you all - be well.