Breaking Down the Walls

Disclaimers: All the usual. No moneymaking on my part, just playing in JKR’s toybox. Aurora is my own creation.
A/N: PLEASE READ: If you’ve never read this story before, forge on! If you HAVE read this story before, you’re going to want to start over at the beginning again. Aftering ing a year away from it, I overhauled it for two reasons: 1) OotP came out and I decided I wanted to take the changes from that book into consideration and 2) I got majorly flamed elsewhere for Aurora’s overwhelming MarySue-ishness and took another look at her. To my embarrassment, I realized she was a textbook case and decided some changes needed to be made. My wonderful beta pointed out that there are a lot of MarySues in canon, but I still felt more comfortable giving my leading lady of of an edge.
Reviews: Please? Especially if you’ve read the story before. I’d love to see what you think of the changes. Of course, all reviews are encouraged and I don’t mind constructive criticism at all, but flames are NOT welcome. Is there something you’d like to see happen/be included in the story? Well, let me know! Who knows how the muse could incorporate them. I’m always open to ideas.

Exhaustion


Professor Severus Snape sat at his desk in the Potions classroom, staring blankly into the empty, cavernous room. His dark eyes were glazed over as if he were lost in thought. And in truth, he was. After a moment, though, he sighed softly and put down the quill he’d held absently in one hand. With a slowness born of exhaustion, he reached up rubbed his eyes tiredly. To a casual observer, Severus would most likely appear to be as he always was: surly, disagreeable and menacing. To a more intent advisor, like the one standing in the doorway, the potions master seemed to be a man struggling with his inner demons and losing the battle. Or maybe giving up would be a better guess.

“I must say, Severus, that even I was bored to tears by writing up lesson plans for first-years,” Albus Dumbledore intoned lightly as he strolled in, unwrapping one of his usual sherbets. Severus flinched at the sound of the voice, but showed no reaction beyond it, other than to shrug carelessly.

“I do what must be done, Albus.” The deadness of Severus’ voice would have sent a chill down a lesser man’s spine, but Albus Dumbledore was far from a lesser man. “Yes, and you do it well, I might add,” he said evenly, catching the dour teacher’s eyes in a steady blue gaze with more than enough power to forbid escape.

“Ah,” came the soft murmur, then Dumbledore looked away, shaking his head sadly. “I take it the summons last night wasn’t exactly the standard ‘counting heads’ ceremony that Voldemort’s been holding lately, was it?”

Severus grimaced and absently rubbed the inside of his arm where the Dark Mark lay hidden beneath the black cloth of his robes. “No, it wasn’t,” he replied tonelessly. His lack of further reply earned an arched brow from the headmaster. Severus growled under his breath and pushed away from the desk to pace restlessly. “It was one of those joyous ‘let’s rape, torture and murder muggles to prove our allegiance’ kind of evenings.”

For a moment, when the potions master had his back turned, Dumbledore allowed a flash of grief to show on his face. Grief for those innocents hurt or lost in the night, but even more so, grief for the pale, tired man pacing in front of him. The death of Sirius Black and the escalation of Voldemort’s efforts were driving the humanity out of him, bit by bit. When Severus turned back again, though, all he saw was a steady, questioning gaze on the headmaster’s face. “And?”

“And?” Severus ground out harshly. “And what? Did I murder anyone?” He snorted loudly anook ook his head. “No, I was spared having to prove myself in that way, for what it’s worth.” The implications of what he had been forced to do hung in the air between them. Albus allowed his sorrow to show. “Severus—“

Snape whirled around and flung out a hand to stop any further comment, his eyes cold and hard. “Just leave it be, Albus. You have enough demons to fight as it is. Leave me to my own. I’ll deal with it. I always have.” The hollowness in his tone was overwhelming. He was a man that felt completely and totally alone. The trouble with Severus was that he refused to be convinced he was not alone. Something had to break through that shield he’d created around himself. Albus refused to leave it be.

“Severus,” he began again, ignoring the angry hiss from the potions master, “how many times are we going to have this conversation?” he asked lightly, but pointedly. “I grieve over those harmed and lost, but you and I both know that we only do what we must to save this life as we know it for ourselves and the muggles. The sacrifice burns, Severus. I’m intimately aware of that, despite my current reputation as a benevolent, senile old man. I’ve shared enough with you for you to know that’s a rather carefully cultivated façade, is it not?” Albus gave a lopsided smile. “Well, maybe not a complete façade. I do sometimes find myself wondering if I’ve gotten old.”

A heavy silence lengthened for a moment before Dumbledore shook his head and sighed, his jollity melting away. “My point, Severus, is this: If your self-imposed penance for your assumed wrongs is to be the death of Voldemort, you’re certainly not going to accomplish that if you’re lost to us through sheer, unmitigated despair. You’ve got to let it out.”

Again, he sat quietly for a moment, studying the younger man before him with an intensity that most would have squirmed under. Severus Snape didn’t squirm for any man, though. That lesson had been quite literally pounded into him since childhood and many times since. Albus sighed and simply nodded, conceding the point for the moment. Silence reigned in the dungeons while both men were caught up in their own thoughts of determination and despair.

Once more the headmaster focused his gaze on the troubled man before him. There was still incredible strength left, as well as the grit and determination to do what had to be done, but Severus’ will to live had waned alarmingly since Voldemort’s public reappearance. And the death of Sirius Black. They’d never spoken of it, but Albus was quite aware of the fact that Severus blamed himself for Sirius’ death, regardless of his past hatred of the man. That and Voldemort’s increasingly vicious treatment of his own followers were pushing Severus perilously close to the edge.

Dumbledore’s expression hardened, showing a rare glimpse of a terrifyingly powerful man bent on a specific end. There was no way he was going to simply sit back and allow this to happen. He’d put a plan into action already, something he prayed would give Severus something to live for before it was too late. As he’d told Harry little more than a month before, the greatest power to be had was heart. And Severus’ had been encased in stone as hard as diamond for far too long, out of necessity. Also out of fear. But even a diamond can be worn away over time with the right tool.

Even more determined than he had been moments before, Albus cleared his throat softly and watched the world-weary man before him raise his eyes as if it took an effort. It took everything in him to steel himself against the pain, put on a reasonably believable smile and join it with a light tone of voice.

“Well, not the best time, but,” the headmaster began apologetically, finally popping the sherbet he’d been carrying into his mouth and sucking it behind his teeth, “I wanted to make sure you were aware of the staff meeting scheduled for this afternoon, Severus.” He smiled blandly at the incredulous look of the potions master. “Yes, yes, I know, but I feel it’s very important we all welcome Professor Despillion into our midst. You know how I feel about some sense of camaraderie among the staff during these times.”

Severus remained where he was, practically snarling, his prodigious temper barely restrained. Dumbledore nodded once and began to turn. Before he could, though, he looked back at the younger man solemnly, all pretense gone. “Get some rest, Severus. You’re more valuable that you can ever know.”

And with that, the headmaster was gone, leaving Severus to sink back onto the stool he’d so recently vacated. He propped his elbows on the desk and let his head fall into his hands with a soft groan. His entire body ached from the night before, but that ache was nothing compared to the anguish of the memories. Memories of the acts he’d committed the evening past and uncountable, unending evenings before. All of them dark and destructive. Somehow, though, he’d been able to harden himself against them, except for moments like these; moments when physical exhaustion allowed those carefully built walls to tremble, the tide of self-loathing and despair behind them fighting to escape. He knew, without a doubt, that if those walls ever broke, it would kill him as surely as an Unforgivable from Voldemort’s wand.

Severus Snape was a man horribly close to being irreparably broken.

*~*

Aurora Despillion stopped at the gates of Hogwarts and dropped her large rucksack to the ground next to her feet as she stared up at the ancient edifice rising before her. The sense of homecoming swamped her with its intensity, especially considering she’d only set foot in the building a handful of times during her life. She smiled bemusedly and shook her head. She had a job to do here, nothing more. One more step in the war against Voldemort. She was simply a soldier in the field, such as it were.

She let her backpack slide off her shoulders and rest on the ground as well. The walk up from Hogsmeade wasn’t all that long, but between her two bags, she was carrying everything she owned. Minimized, of course, but still even all those tiny things carried weight. She sighed and stretched, her ‘Don’t talk to me (I’m deciding your fate)’ t-shirt stretching across her back as she bent over to touch her toes, her fingers grazing her anklet tattoo, designed in a cryptic floral like pattern. When she’d worked the kinks out, she reached back to tighten her ponytail, smoothing a few wisps of light blond hair away from her face and into her black Starbucks baseball cap. She then brought her hands down.

Wrinkling her nose, she looked down at herself, then smiled wryly. She probably should have dressed up a bit more before approaching the castle, but— She shrugged. There were no students yet and she’d conform to the conventional then and not a minute before. Having been briefed on all the professors at the school, she was fairly sure no one would go ballistic over her somewhat mugglish tendencies, although it was a given there would be some raised eyebrows.

Aurora stood therr a r a moment, seemingly at a loss, but apparently unwilling to step through the gates just yet. She shoved her hands in the back pocket of her jean shorts and rocked on her heels, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she contemplated all the implications of walking through the front doors of Hogwarts. “Oh, for crying out loud,” she muttered under her breath, suddenly kneeling down and unzipping her backpack, rummaging through it for a minute. She came out with a silver compact and snapped it open, giving herself a long look.

“Well,” she sighed, shrugging, “not too bad.” And then she snorted and stuck her tongue out at her own reflection. “Already falling into the old traps, my girl. If you over think this, it isn’t going to work and you and I both know if you try to entice him with your looks, he’s going to laugh you out of the castle.”

She ‘hmmmd’ and continued the conversation with her reflection. “Yes, but it’s so much easier that way, isn’t it? After all, what’s a little vanity between friends?” Chuckling under her breath, she shook her head and snapped the compact closed again, glad no one had heard her little one-sided conversation. But then she suddenly stiffened, a loud ‘whuf’ sounding just behind her. She whirled around, her eyes widening—

“Hagrid!” she cried, having to lean back to see up into the half-giant’s face. “Oh, Hagrid, it’s really you, isn’t it?” She threw herself into the beaming man’s embrace, looking like a small child as she dangled from his embrace. Fang, the maker of the warning ‘whuf’ was scuttling about, his tail wagging madly as he barked his enthusiasm.

“Well, if ain’t little Aurora Du—er, Despillion, herself,” Hagrid replied happily, covering his near bobble as he set the young woman back on her feet. “Heard tell from Albus that you were coming, but even so, I couldn’t quite believe it.” It was plain to for any to see that the pair knew each other well and held a great affection.

Aurora smiled and lifted her hands in supplication. “You know how it is, Hagrid. When the headmaster decides something must be done a certain way, that’s how it generally happens.” She glanced around, then back at the gamekeeper, her voice much softer and sympathetic. “Hagrid, I’m so sorry about the giants. I know how you’d hoped they’d be amenable to a treaty.”

Hagrid shrugged. “Eh, well, things work out they way they’re meant to be, yeh know? Ruddy beggars’re just too thick to see the truth standin’ in front of ‘em.” He looked a little mournful for a moment, then shrugged again. “At least we know, so we can get ready jus’ in case You-Know-Who does manage to rally ‘em up.”

Aurora took a slow, deep breath and nodded. “You’re right Hagrid. At least we have that.” So much more was still uncertain, though. The unrest with the centaurs was only a taste of probproblems brewing in the non-human magical community and that only further stirred a pot nearly at the boiling point already. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to refocus. She had two things to focus on during her tenure at Hogwarts, no matter how long or short it turned out to be: teach the children to defend themselves and help with the search for a way to remove the Dark Mark from one Professor Severus Snape.

The first job she looked forward to. She’d been a rather difficult, precocious student herself, so she wasn’t naïve about the challenges of teaching. But working with the infamous Professor Snape was another story altogether. There wasn’t anything worth knowing about the man that she didn’t know, thanks to Dumbledore and the Department of Mysteries, but nothing she’d studied gave her any hope of having any easy time of it. He was legendary in almost all circles for his talents of fear and intimidation.

And that was the problem. Aurora had never responded well to those traits in another person. They seemed to bring out the worst in her time and time again. To that end, she’d spent the last few weeks trying to steel herself against what Snape would most likely be throwing at her. Regardless of her other talents, she wasn’t exactly a master at potion making. Over the years of her unusual education and training, she’d become too ingrained into using her unique powers without ‘outside’ help from things like wands and potions. In this instance, her value to the headmaster and Professor Snape—whether he ever recognized it or not--lay in the capacity she seemed to have for researching obscure tidbits of information and applying them to immediate needs. It was funny how she seemed to have infinite patience for everything but watching a bubbling cauldron boil. She sighed heavily, having forgotten Hagrid in her musings. Snape was most likely going to give her about as much respect as a first-year. In other words, none to speak of.

Hagrid’s ramblings suddenly brought Aurora back to the here and now and she flushed slightly at her lack of attention to her old friend. But as luck would have it, Hagrid seemed to be winding down anyway. “Well, let’s get yeh up to the castle. I’m sure the headmaster is anxious to see yeh, Aurora.” He paused and ruffled her hair, leaving her to roll her eyes good-naturedly as her hat was knocked off and her ponytail holder snapped under his gentle ministrations, leaving her hair in raucous curls around her shoulders. “It’ll do ‘im good. Albus’s been real sad since we lost Sirius. Evr’body has.” Hagrid’s tree trunk of a body seemed to shrink in on itself for a minute as his own grief became apparent.

“I know, Hagrid,” Aurora murmured softly, giving the gentle man an affectionate squeeze. “I didn’t know Sirius personally, but I do know how important he was to everyone here.” A pensive expression flitted across her face, but she didn’t give voice to the thought behind it. Instead, she put on an encouraging smile, her intensely blue eyes twinkling, and gave Hagrid a little pull.

“Come, Hagrid, let’s get inside. There’s a particular house elf I want to look up. Her name was Trixy and she used to sneak me the most amazing raspberry shortbreads when I visited as a child. My mouth waters just thinking about them,” she chatted sociably, purposefully drawing the child-like man out of his melancholy. He grinned in response, grabbed up her bags and headed through the gates.

Aurora paused for just a moment, again glancing at the imposing edifice of what was to be her home indefinitely. She only hoped she could do this without making a muck of it. With a sniff of irritation, she gave herself a mental shake. If her weaknesses were many, well, she had a few strengths, too. And facing the difficult things head-on was one of them. It was time to find out just what Hogwarts, Dumbledore and Severus Snape had in store for her.

*~*

Even in the usually cooler depth of the duns, ts, the early summer heat was getting oppressive. Severus shrugged out of his robe--donned out of habit more than purpose--and proceeded to roll up his shirt sleeves. Never would he have appeared so informally before his students, but the castle had finally divested itself of the infestation of children for the summer.

He leaned back in his chair for a moment, allowing his normally rigid posture to slip into a slouch, his eyes drifting closed. Between the lack of sleep and the heat, he was having a hard time getting his mind to concentrate on anything. Of course, there were certain subjects he shied away from. Sirius Black. Voldemort. Sick, depraved revels in the dark of night. Dumbledore trying to pry him out of his self-imposed isolation. Sirius Black.

Severus ground his teeth as the mental loop resumed the reel it had been on for weeks since that horrible night at the Ministry. As often as he refused to take any responsibility, his conscience refused to allow him an alibi. If he had been man enough to put aside his own prejudices, he would have accomplished something in teaching Potter Occlumency. As it was, he’d given in to embarrassment and rage and taken it out on the only available target: Potter. After all, how did one take their revenge on a dead man?

He snorted inelegantly. Evidently one did so by taking out said revenge on the dead man’s son, pathetic orphan waif that he was. Severus opened his eyes and stared unseeingly across the room. Of course, Potter war frr from that pathetic orphan waif that showed up nearly six years ago.

A book slammed shut with a snap that reverberated off the stone walls of the office. “Enough,” Severus growled under his breath, unwilling to put himself under his own microscope any longer. He was sick and tired of pulling himself apart over his long list of sins. He had to find something to distract his mind or he was going to implode.

Only a few minutes later, he was headed through the entry hall and towards the front doors. It was hot as Dante’s seventh level of hell out there, but maybe by the lake-- And that was Severus’ last coherent thought for a moment as his vicious shove to the front door met with resistance and a loud, feminine sounding yelp. He stopped, surveying the portal with raised brows. Not that he made a point of cataloging his female colleagues voices, but that certainly hadn’t sounded like one he recognized. His fit of frustration and self-flagellation forgotten for the moment, he cautiously pulled the door open to see just what had happened on the other side.

On that other side, Aurora had just been about to reach for the door handle to hold it open for Hagrid when it had hit her with the force of a well-aimed bludger. There wasn’t time to cushion herself at all before she landed hard enough to knock the wind out of her. As hard as her rear end had hit the stone, she wouldn’t be sitting comfortably for a week, either. She was just cataloging these issues, as well as trying to fill her shocked lungs, when the door slowly opened to show an uneasy-looking man peering down at her.

She sat there for a moment, once again having forgotten Hagrid was close behind her. Ah, yes, Professor Snape. She recognized him from the picture in his school file. Well, quite the auspicious beginning, she thought with more than a flicker of irritation. The flicker became a more stable flame as the tall man standing before did not bother to try and help her up or even offer an apology. And to add insult to injury, he was looking down at her as if quite amused by her predicament. Then his eyes roamed slowly over her, taking her in inch by inch. For a moment, Aurora forgot to be offended, caught up in the intense, dark gaze. But then a haughty sneer twisted his lips and she felt her cheeks burn in response.

Before she could fire off a suitable put-down, Hagrid caught her under the arms and lifted her to her feet as he easily as he would have done for a rag doll. She unconsciously rubbed her bruised posterior as she turned to thank the kindly groundskeeper. “Thank you, Hagrid,” she murmured with a grateful smile before clearing her throat and glowering at the man who lookveryvery bit of his student-given reputation of a vampire.

Without another word, her chin held high in obvious indignation, she swept past Snape without another glance. Officious bastard, she thought sourly as she brushed against him to get through the doorway. If this was how he treated people in general, her entire project might be set up for failure. She shook herself mentally. An attitude like that wasn’t going to get them anywhere quickly. One bad moment in the beginning didn’t spoil anything. Besides, he didn’t even know who she was. Yet. She called for Hagrid and headed up the stairs.

*~*

“Er… afternoon, Professor,” Hagrid mumbled, obviously unsure of how to handle the incident. His name floated through the door, called out in a feminine tone. “I… er… I guess I’d better be getting’ along now,” he said nervously, holding up the luggage he was carrying as if that were explanation. And then he was gone, inside as quickly as he could once Severus stepped aside.

Severus turned and watched Hagrid follow the blond up the stairs, what he assumed were her bags in hand. He stood there for a moment, puzzling over what he’d just seen. She was obviously too old to be a student, aside from the fact that they were gone for the summer. Maybe she was a relative of one of the staff members come for a visit. But then he was fairly certain quite a few of the staff were going away themselves.

After a moment’s further speculation, he shrugged and turned back to initial destination, but he was still evaluating the site of the blond sprawled out on the front steps in his mind. The first thing he’d noticed—still being male and human despite the rumors—was that the girl was remarkably pretty. If you liked that type, that is. Light golden blond hair, peaches and cream skin tinted with a healthy tan and deep sapphire blue eyes. Not that he’d really paid that much attention. Not that much at all. He sneered with obvious practice. Besides, he’d gotten a good look at that bizarre getup she was wearing. Obviously muggle-inspired at the least. Not a bit of elegance about it. Overstated and brash like most things muggle seemed to be. In fact, it was quite possible she was a muggle, brought to the school as part of one of Dumbledore’s elaborate schemes. He finally shrugged and dismissed the entire incident, especially that rather attractive tattoo around her ankle. He wasn’t the least bit tempted to get a closer look at it.

His attempts to distract himself not exactly working well, he strode towards the lake, scowling at the stab of physical interest he felt stir in the pit of his belly. Good god, he thought disgustedly, the thing should just fall off in sheer disgust of being used in the ways it had lately instead of rearing its head at a pretty girl. If only he could brew up a potion to drain off his hormones, it would fix several problems. Of course, that would only leave several more in its wake.

His mood blacker than before, Severus stomped off towards the lake.

*~*

Later that afternoon…

Severus was once again ensconced in his dungeon rooms, this time sprawled out in an oversized armchair massaging his temples. A headache was blooming rapidly as he considered his class schedule and all the irritations that came from class after class of ineffective, basically moronic students. For once, he was almost glad to have the excuse of a staff meeting to take his tumultuous thoughts away from his many duties, both seen and unseen.

“Of course”, his rather vocal subconscious interjected, “you do realize you’re only trying to avoid the real issues?”

He growled at his subconscious, firmly silenced it and looked about for something to occupy his mind. Ah yes. On the table where he graded papers and such was the innocuous bit of parchment announcing the staff meeting Albus had mentioned that morning. Long fingers reached over to pluck up the missive. He snorted, rereading the words announcing the afternoon tea during the meeting to welcome the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. \'Hah,\' he thought sardonically. Now that Voldemort had arisen publicly, the students were going to need more instruction than the likes of the idiots brought in before. For all his respect for Dumbledore, Severus wondered what kind of freak would be trotted in this time. Sighing, he pushed away from his desk and went in search of a pain-relieving potion before subjecting himself to the rest of the staff for an extended period of time.

In the staffroom, the little get-together was in full swing. The sound of voices and clink of china indicated that there were even refreshments. Severus sighed and tried to gather himself before entering the room. He could only wish that Albus wasn\'t so insistent on forcing him to be part of the \'family\' of the Hogwarts staff. He\'d never been much into being part of a group, much more comfortable with only his own company, but Dumbledore would have none of it. Flicking an invisible piece of lint from his robe in irritation, Severus sighed again, then stepped into the room.

The sight that met his eyes almost caused his jaw to drop. The une unknown person in the room had to be the new professor. The shocking thing was that the woman wasn’t completely unknown to him. It was the girl he’d more or less mowed down with the front door earlier. Unless she had a twin...

\"Ah, Severus,\" Albus intoned cheerfully, motioning the glowering man into the room, \"come and meet our new professor, Miss Despillion.\" Severus noted that Dumbledore seemed even more jovial than usual, a stretch, to be sure. He cocked an eyebrow as he contemplated the young woman apparently holding court in the staffroom. She was nothing like she had been only hours ago. The obnoxious t-shirt, the baseball cap and all the muggle accoutrements were gone, leaving it their place something out of an illustrated fairytale. And he didn\'t think that as a compliment in any form. The woman sitting there was probably in her late twenties and as beautiful as anyone could possibly imagine. Golden hair fell in waves and curls around her shoulders and down her back, picking up hints of the sunlight streaming through the window and almost creating an aura around her. Impossible blue eyes contemplated him from under long, sooty lashes. Severus noted her apparently perfect, creamy skin, high cheekbones and pouty lips without rolling his eyes—quite a feat, truth be told. And to top it all off, she was dressed in robes of deepest amethyst, setting off her coloring to perfection. He sighed mentally. Lovely. A female Lockhart with an attitude. It was going to be a long year.

Against his slight resistance, Dumbledore led him right over to the new teacher, apparently excited about the introduction. \"Aurora, let me introduce you to our Potions Master, Severus Snape. Severus, Aurora Despillion.\" Conversation had stopped as everyone waited to see if he would offend the new teacher or fall prey to her obvious charms. Severus nearly laughed at the expressions of eager anticipation. He couldn\'t disappoint his adoring fans, though, so he let a sarcastic smile twitch his lips as he barely nodded, only giving the new teacher the barest of recognition and waited for her reaction. Expecting her to be offended or at least intimidated or flustered, he ended up somewhat surprised when the woman pinned him with a slightly amused, knowing expression and stood, offering her hand to him. Severus gritted his teeth, wanting to turn and walk away, but with Dumbledore standing right there, he could do nothing but take Miss Despillion\'s hand, his distaste not well-hidden. Her grip was surprisingly firm and if he wasn\'t mistaken, she actually made a point of squeezing his hand before he pulled it away. And there was something about the twinkle in her deep blue eyes that tickled the back of his mind. It unsettled him, having underestimated her reaction. He’d expected something more after their ‘encounter’ on the front steps.

\"Ah, the vaunted Professor Snape,\" Aurora said with a smile, her voice also not what he expected. High pitched and squeaky or maybe a little breathy was what he\'d assumed he\'d hear. Not husky and… sexy. Sexy? His stance became even more rigid as he wondered where the hell that thought had come from. Not that he had the time or inclination to indulge in anything, but even if he were, this Aurora—just her name made him want to roll his eyes in disdain—was as far from his \'type\' as she could possibly be.

\"I\'ve heard much of your work, Professor,\" she went on conversationally, seeming to enjoy his discomfiture. \"And while your reputation definitely precedes you, I look forward to working with you, regardless.” She smirked at his darkening expression, but continued on blithely. “Headmaster Dumbledore has told me of his plans to have the two of us work together closely on a project or two,\" she stated, taking her seat again and picking up her teacup, sipping daintily.

Severus stood his ground, confused by her obvious amusement and irritated by the entire farce of a staff meeting. Not to mention the farce of a viable teacher of defense. The piece of fluff sitting in front of him probably couldn\'t defend herself against a simple Confusing Charm, much less anything truly of the dark arts. On top of it all, he didn’t have a clue as to what she was talking about as far as Albus’ plans. He stifled a groan. None of this boded well for him

Completely uncaring about appearing rude or abrupt, his temper barely held in check, he simply snorted in her direction before turning on his heel and putting as much distance between himself and the bevy of fluttering, adoring teachers. Even that twit, Trelawney had come down from her belfry—probably with bats in tow—to fawn over Dumbledore\'s new protégé. He picked up a cookie with furious movements, biting into it before he realized it was a pumpkin cookie. He hated pumpkin cookies and it took every ounce of control not to spit it out on the floor. Swallowing with effort, his anger rising, he wondered what was going on in Dumbledore\'s head. How in the world could he have brought this woman in to teach? Especially the sixth and seventh years? It was ridiculous. The Dark Lord was growing in power daily and even Moody or Lupin would have been a better choice.

Severus sighed, silently admitting a momentary defeat as he stood his ground, knowing he couldn\'t leave just quite yet, although he was \'allowed\' to remain on the fringes of gatherings like this. Leaning against the wall, he observed the goings-on, marveling that even McGonagall seemed enraptured of the new professor, hanging on her every word. He shook his head and retreated into mentally reviewing all he had to do to prepare for the next school term before he could get to his usual summer experiments and projects. Of course, that was assuming that spying on the Dark Lord didn’t consume his every moment. He passed quite a bit of time in those dark musings before he felt as if he were being watched and glanced around the room to find out who was observing him. To his surprise, he found himself the object of a piercing gaze from a set of contemplative blue eyes. The conversation swirled around her as she covertly studied him, as if trying to figure something out. Unconsciously, Severus straightened and flicked a strand of hair away from his face. And then, as if watching him weren\'t bad enough, the woman suddenly grinned and had the audacity to wink at him. Wink at him? What the hell? Was she making fun of him? Or…?

Having had quite enough, Severus turned and stalked out the room, muttering unintelligible imprecations under his breath as he strode back towards his solitary dungeon.

Back in the staffroom, Aurora Despillion met Albus Dumbledore\'s eyes briefly as she nodded faintly, each of them looking quite satisfied with something.