Severus Snape Meets His Match

Author’s Note:

I’ve read a lot of the fics here, and they’re really good. I thought I’d try out a little idea about what would happen if the new Defense Against The Dark Arts professor was a female who was every bit as icy as Severus. I bet some sparks are gonna fly!

I hope you all enjoy.

Amelia

-----------------------------------------------------

Severus stood quietly with a look of utter annoyance on his face as he watched the small horse-drawn carriage pull up to the front gate and stop. His black eyes stared straight at the passenger inside. She looked young…much too young for the position Albus had given her. Leave it to that senile old wizard to once again pass him over for the Defense Against The Dark Arts position and hire an American instead! Severus hadn’t even heard her name spoken once among the European wizarding community. She was an unknown as far as he could tell, and a mudblood to boot! To be subject to such an insult as standing here waiting to escort Her Highness into the castle really put him in a foul mood. As an Englishman, he disliked Yanks. As a pureblood, he disliked mudbloods even more. What possible reason could Albus have for asking him to personally greet this Witch upon her arrival? What did he think he was, a babysitter?

Randi MacKenzie stepped out of the carriage and stared at the dark haired wizard in front of her as the driver retrieved her trunk for her. He was taller than she had expected, and he looked very unhappy to see her, which she had expected. Albus had warned her before coming that the Potionsmaster wouldn’t like her much. She was prepared for a cold welcome.

Severus looked her over from head to toe, keeping his displeased look apparent. Had Albus lost his mind in his old age? He had come here expecting someone at least close to his own age, but what he had found was a woman who didn’t look a day over twenty-five! She was attractive - he would give her that. Her complexion was flawless, her features perfect, her face nicely made up, and she had shiny, dark, brown hair that fell in a neat line almost down to her waist. Attractiveness counted for nothing, however, in the job she had been hired to do. From his perspective, she hardly looked like the type who would make even a passable professor. Surely this girl would do no better than the others, most probably she would fare even worse.. You would think that the old wizard would have made a wise choice this time around, with Voldemort out in the open and all, but no, he had chosen this American mudblood without so much as explaining the reason why.

He flashed her a cold sneer and said, “Miss MacKenzie, I assume.”

She gave a nod and simply replied, “Yes, and you must be Professor Snape.”

“I expected a grown Witch.” He stated in a sarcastic tone, “How old are you?”

“I’m twenty-five.” She replied casually as she took the trunk from the driver.

He snatched the trunk from her and said, “I’ll take that. There’s no sense in straining yourself.”

“As you wish.” She replied then made a gesture towards the castle. “Shall we?”

“In a hurry to get yourself done in, Miss MacKenzie?” he asked dryly as he began walking, “You know we’ve had a bit of trouble keeping your position filled these last few years.”

“That won’t happen this time.” She declared sharply.

“You sound awfully confident for someone of such a young age.” He replied darkly, “I’m certain the news about You-Know-Who has reached your shores, has it not?”

She glanced over at him, her brown eyes matching his dark look. “If it hadn’t, I’d still be enjoying my solitude, Professor.”

“Really?” he snorted, “Well you must enjoy a lot of solitude then. I don’t recall ever hearing of you before.”

“I have no desire to make the news or receive commendations.” She replied in a serious tone as she examined the outside of the castle, “I do my job, that’s all.”

Surprised by her response, he shot her a curious look, “ So you’re an Auror then?”

She gave a nod and replied, “Yes.”

“How long have you worked in the field?” he asked, shooting her a cold glance..

“Over two years now.” She answered flatly.

He frowned and said, “Two years, that’s it? You must be joking.”

“I’d reserve my judgment if I were you.” She stated as they reached the steps that led to the front doors, “Appearances can be deceiving.”

Filch was standing there holding a lit lantern, with his cat Mrs. Norris beside him. He looked at the Witch and scowled. “Don’t tell me this is the Witch Albus is in such a fuss about. She looks like she’s barely out of the academy!”

Randi kept silent and ignored the old caretaker. Severus cocked his head and said, “The old man’s gone mental at last, if you ask me.”

Filch quickly ushered them both inside and took the trunk from Severus. “I’ll take that, Severus. They’re already done with the sorting ceremony, so I suppose you two had better get on then.” He then looked at the Witch blankly. “Where will you be staying?”

“I’ll stay in the empty room in the dungeons.” She replied non-chalauntly.

Severus gave her a bewildered look. “The dungeons? Couldn’t Albus do better for you than that?”

“I like my solitude, Professor.” She replied slowly then looked at Filch, “Thank you, Mr. Filch.”

Filch shook his head then trudged off with the trunk, Mrs. Norris padding behind him.

She followed Severus into the Great Hall to find Dumbledore fully immersed in his welcoming speech. He smiled warmly and held a hand out towards her, “Students, I’d like you to meet Miss Randi Mackenzie. She’ll be your Defense Against The Dark Arts professor this year.”

The older students promptly began to chuckle as she walked towards the head table after Severus. She smirked when she saw Severus silence the boys at the Slytherin table with a cold glare. When they reached the head table, Severus moved around to take his seat while Randi went over to Dumbledore and shook his hand.

“Thank you for coming, dear.” He said brightly, “Under the circumstances, I hope you understand why I asked for you.”

“That’s quite alright, Headmaster.” She replied as she let go of his hand, “You needed me, and so I’m here.”

The students all stared at her with interest. Ron leaned over to Harry and whispered, “She’s our new professor? Bloody hell, is she even old enough?”

“Beats me.” Harry shrugged.

“She looks like she’s only in her twenties.” Hermione commented with a puzzled look on her face.

Dumbledore motioned towards the empty seat between Severus and Hagrid and said, “Please, have a seat, Professor MacKenzie.”

She made her way to the empty seat and sat down.

“Good ev’nin’, Professor MacKenzie.” Hagrid said good-naturedly.

“You must be Hagrid.” She replied with a pleasant smile, “Albus has told me so much about you.”

“How did a pretty young lass like yerself get talked inta comin’ all this way to teach?” Hagrid asked curiously.

“It seems my father owed him a favor.” She replied half-heartedly as she looked around the room, “How many wards are on this castle?”

“I don’t rightly know.” Hagrid answered honestly then tilted his head towards Severus, “But I betcha he does.”

She looked at Severus expectedly.

“There are at least twelve, Miss MacKenzie.” He replied almost in a whisper, “If they’re not sufficient enough to make you feel comfortable, I’ll put some more up tomorrow.”

“I put up my own wards, thank you.” She stated icily then continued scanning the room with her eyes, “I prefer my own creations when I have the opportunity to use them.”

He turned to her with raised eyebrows, “You make your own spells?”

She gave a nod and replied, “Ever since I was twelve, Professor.”

He sneered at her and took a sip of a cup of tea that sat before him, “Oh really? Were they ever published?”

“My spells are too dangerous to become common knowledge” She replied quickly then turned her attention towards the far, back corner of the hall. A sly smile came over her face, but she kept silent until Dumbledore sat down at the table.

She leaned back so that she wasn’t looking through Severus and said, “Nice try, Albus, but I can see it.”

The old wizard looked at her and smiled knowingly.

Severus looked at the corner, then at Dumbledore. Nothing was there as far as he could tell. What was it Albus had tried to hide from her? More importantly, why couldn’t he see it himself?

He tried to ignore her as they ate dinner, but did take note of her mannerisms. She ate quietly and kept her attention well focused on what was going on around her. She didn’t speak another word to anyone until dinner was over and the students began to file out of the hall.

She stood up, straightening her robes with one hand, then looked at Dumbledore. “The one sitting between the red headed boy and the girl at the third table.”

Without so much as waiting for a reply from the old wizard, she turned and headed out the back entrance.

Severus gave Dumbledore a puzzled look, “What was that all about?”

Dumbledore smiled and replied, “Just seeing if she’s as skilled as I was told. Apparently she is.”

Severus scowled. “For Merlin’s sake, Albus, will you explain to me what she’s doing here? I expected a seasoned veteran, not some young tart with a suggestive name.”

The old wizard chuckled and replied, “I must agree that her name is a bit amusing, but trust me, Severus, she’s very good at what she does.”

Severus shook his head and made his way out the back entrance and towards the dungeons. He stopped when saw that the door to the previously unoccupied room at the end of the corridor was standing open. Slowly, he approached it and stood just inside the doorway. She was standing beside a small bed that was shoved up against the wall to the right. All around her sponges, dustrags and brooms were working on cleaning up the dust and grime that had resulted from the room’s disuse. Her trunk lay open at the end of the bed, filled with black and silver clothing and who knows what else underneath it. He was a little shocked to see that she was smoking a cigarette. It was a disgusting habit in his opinion, not something a well-bred Witch would be caught doing, but then again, she wasn’t a pureblood. Mudbloods and their vices!

“Are you going to just stand there, or are you coming in?” she asked dryly without turning around.

He walked in and cast his eyes about the room, “Doing a little cleaning, are we? I would have had the room ready if Albus had informed me that you’d be staying here.”

She turned around and blew a puff of smoke in his direction, “I don’t like small talk, Professor. Why don’t you just tell me what’s on your mind.”

He walked toward her, locking his eyes on hers. “I can’t help but wonder why you’re here. You hardly look old enough to have the experience your position warrants.”

She took a long draw off of her cigarette and looked at him intensely, “My age bothers you? I would have thought my first name would have been more of an issue, considering how uptight and stodgy I was told you were.”

“In case you haven’t heard, Miss MacKenzie, we have a very powerful wizard with a horde of vicious followers on the loose.” He stated coldly, “I would have thought Albus would have the common sense to hire someone with a lot more experience than you obviously have.”

She laughed softly as she exhaled another puff of smoke, “Lord Voldemort, the terror of the wizarding world and leader of the dreaded Death Eaters. You want to know why I’m here, Professor. There’s your reason.”

“And what do you possibly expect to do about him, Miss MacKenzie?” Severus asked bluntly.

She thought for a moment then replied, “Killing the bastard would be my first choice, but unfortunately, that job’s already taken.” She walked over to a large vanity that stood across the room from the bed and butted out the cigarette in a small, silver ashtray. She then looked at him and continued, “My job is to teach, and to see to it that your Dark Lord doesn’t get his hands on Mr. Potter and his companions.”

“And how do you expect to do that?” he inquired as he folded his arms in front of him.

She pulled a small chair out from underneath the vanity and sat down, not taking her dark eyes off of the wizard standing before her. “If I told you that, I’d have to kill you.”

“Good day, Miss MacKenzie!” he spat indignantly before turning away from her rather abruptly. She smiled smugly as she watched him storm out of her room and down the corridor towards his own chambers, his black robes billowing behind him. So this was the fearsome Death Eater turned spy that she’d been warned to avoid. Frankly, she wasn’t impressed.

Severus slammed the heavy, wooden door to his private chamber shut and seethed as he grabbed a bottle of firewhiskey from a small cabinet close to the door. He’d expected her to be a little full of herself; Americans were well known for their arrogance, but she was the worst he’d ever seen! Two years in the field, and she dared to think that she could be a match for Death Eaters. She was in for a very rude awakening!