Dumbledore was speaking carefully, and Severus Snape looked up from the chessboard in surprise.
�Yes, Headmaster?�
The students had been gone from Hogwarts for a week, and the teachers that had remained for the summer, including Severus, found the quiet corridors peaceful. They had all, to one extent or another, adopted a slightly more relaxed attitude, pursuing studies and pastimes denied them during the school months.
Dumbledore had spent every one of the past seven days in his office. Professors Sprout and Flitwick confided their belief that he was researching a way to revive dead dungbeetles, but Snape had glanced at the Headmaster�s reading material when he�d arrived for this evening�s chess match. Dumbledore was reading a novel, one that had stood at the top spot in The Daily Prophet�s Bestseller List for over two months. It was called �Witch In Bondage.� The front cover had no moving pictures, probably for decency�s sake, but described itself as �a page-turner, with scorching passion,� and indeed, Severus had seen the cover was singed in several places.
Severus himself had spent his days scouring the hills outside Hogwarts for rare herbs and plants he�d found in short supply at the end of the school year. He and Albus had fallen into the habit of meeting each evening after the final meal for a game of wizard�s chess. The games had proven relaxing for Severus, Dumbledore being one of the few wizards he was completely comfortable being around.
And so he was surprised at Dumbledore�s question. Well, not the question, but the manner in which it had been asked.
Dumbledore had spoken _delicately_, which suggested to Severus it was something he would not be pleased to hear.
�Yes, Headmaster?� he repeated when Albus didn�t answer immediately.
�Severus, I have found you an assistant for your N.E.W.T. level Potions classes.�
Severus was even more surprised. Why would Dumbledore be hesitant to inform him of this? He had been petitioning for a trained assistant for over a year. Unless...
Severus narrowed his eyes. Unless it was someone to whom Dumbledore knew he would object.
�Yes, Headmaster?� he asked again, his tone almost, but not quite, severe.
�She is a fairly young witch, Severus, but she has taught as an O.W.L. level assistant for four years, and for the past two years has assisted at N.E.W.T. level.�
�How young?� Severus asked suspiciously. He�d never understood his attraction to the opposite sex, and the thought of fending off an amorous teaching assistant for an entire year filled him with extreme distaste. He would have preferred a male assistant for that very reason.
Dumbledore, thankfully, understood what he was really asking.
�Twenty-three. And I don�t believe you�ll have that particular problem with her, Severus.�
Dumbledore cleared his throat.
�Well, then, Headmaster, what exactly is the problem?� Severus snapped.
�She is a former student of ours. Of yours.�
Severus furrowed his brows as he thought back. If she was twenty-three, she must have graduated six years ago. Six years ago, and someone bright enough to have reached assistant status in such a short time. Only one name came to him, and he frowned at Dumbledore.
�Miss McDougall.�
Dumbledore inclined his head in agreement and Severus paused. He remembered Miss McDougall very well. She had some outlandish first name. What was it?
�As I recall, she was an exceptional student, and her O.W.L.�s and N.E.W.T.�s in Potionmaking were nearly as high as my own.�
Frankie, that was her name. And Frankie McDougall had never suffered for that strange affliction known as a �crush�, Severus also recalled with relief. Dumbledore was correct on that score.
�I repeat, Albus, what is the problem?�
Albus sighed and leaned forward, his beard knocking several chess pieces to the floor. Neither of the wizards noticed the pieces begin battling, and Dumbledore steepled his fingers as he spoke.
�Frankie has teaching at the Salem School of Witchcraft. A fine establishment,� he said honestly.
�Her father was an American, was he not?� Severus inquired.
�Yes. Her mother was from Yorkshire, but she died when Frankie was quite young. Many fine witches and wizards have come from the Salem school.�
�I always found her uniquely well-mannered for an American,� Severus interjected.
�Yes. Well. It seems her years here, though instructional, have not made a lasting impression on Miss McDougall. She has adopted some, er, American mannerisms.�
Severus raised one eyebrow. �Such as?�
�I understand from Headmaster Oglivie that her �Goth� phase, though now in the past, was quite acceptable, barring the white make-up.�
Severus tried to imagine what a �goth phase� was and failed. �And now?�
�Now, she is in what Oglivie called a �piercing� phase.�
�What, Headmaster, is a �piercing phase�?�
�Well, it may not matter, but Oglivie seems to think that although it made little difference in her position in Salem, that it would not be fitting for a teacher at Hogwarts. He did have a word with her, he told me, but he was not sure if he made an impression.�
Severus suddenly understood.
�You want me to speak to her as well.�
�If needed, yes, Severus. She should be arriving tomorrow afternoon. If you could, perhaps, bring her �up to snuff� before term starts, that would be marvelous.� Dumbledore beamed. �After all, it will be weeks before the students return. I�m sure you can manage it, Severus, in your usual diplomatic way.�
Severus had a sneaking suspicion that he was being teased, and unsure why, he simply ignored it. �There is more, isn�t there?�
Dumbledore sighed. �Yes, Severus. Miss McDougall has furthered her studies not only in Potions, but also in Transfigurations.� He paused, and Severus narrowed his eyes.
�And?�
�And she is now a registered ani-magus.� Dumbledore held up one hand as Severus started in surprise. �I know you have no liking for ani-magery, Severus.�
Severus Snape recalled the other ani-magi he knew and simply nodded. He wasn�t sure he could trust himself to speak for a moment, then he said softly, �I have nothing but respect for Minerva, Headmaster, as you know.�
�And I hope you will feel the same for Miss McDougall. She will, with your permission, also be assisting Minerva in Transfigurations, though of course her work with you comes first.�
Severus managed to leave his uncomfortable feelings behind and enjoy the rest of the evening. He departed the Headmaster�s office later that night agreeably tired. As he doused the candles and climbed into bed, a stray thought crossed his mind.
With all the talk about ani-magery, Dumbledore had never actually defined what a �piercing phase� might be.
Dumbledore stood in the entrance of Greenhouse Two, Professor Sprout fidgeting next to him. Severus nodded coolly and finished repotting his latest acquisition, a fully grown fan-gully plant. He�d found it deep within the Dark Forest and had managed to uproot it and get it back to Hogwarts with very little injury. (He�d brought All-Heal salve with him as a precaution, and the bite, though severe, would heal with very little scarring. As if another scar mattered.)
He tamped the last bit of soil in place and Professor Sprout suddenly moved forward.
�I�ll finish that for you, Severus. You�d best be getting on with the Headmaster. You mustn�t keep your new...� Professor Sprout suddenly stopped, and Severus frowned, certain he�d heard her giggle.
�Your new assistant. You mustn�t keep your new assistant waiting.�
He shot a dark glance at Dumbledore, but the Hogwarts Headmaster merely beamed and nodded, and Severus re-arranged his cape with a sigh.
�Very well. Please be sure the fan-gully gets enough blood. I estimate it is only a week from blooming, and it is at an extremely delicate phase of its evolution.�
Professor Sprout�s eyebrows rose almost into her curly gray hair.
�You are aware, Severus, that I am the Herbology Professor? I know how to care for a fan-gully plant, no matter what stage of development it may be in.� She snorted in amusement. �Don�t worry about your plant. You have enough problems to deal with already.�
With that ominous warning, Severus bowed in reluctant apology and followed Dumbledore back to the school building.
Two witches, one immediately recognizable as Madame Hooch, were soaring and swooping through the high ceilinged room, their broomsticks moving so swiftly they all but whistled. The aerial maneuvers they were performing would have been astounding outside in the open air of the Quidditch pitch, but here, at full speed and inside stone walls, they were beyond incredible. Madame Pomfrey muttered under her breath as she watched in fascinated horror, and Professor Flitwick�s wand looked as if it was trembling as he tried desperately to keep up with one or the other. To catch them if they fell, Severus surmised. No, not if. When they fell.
The two fliers seemed to be playing a wizard form of the Muggle game known as �chicken�, the tails of their broomsticks neatly brushing each other in passing, and as they looped the stone pillars and dove towards the floor at breakneck speed, Severus caught a shimmering glint of gold, the tiniest flutter showing the Golden Snitch as it evaded the two women once more. High laughs rang out from them as the Snitch zoomed past the growing audience, nearly snagging itself in Dumbledore�s beard as it raced away, once more invisible in its speed. The two would-be Seekers performed a near impossible stunt, braking, reversing, and accelerating in a bare split second, barely an inch from smashing into the floor. The wind of their passing caused Severus� cape to billow out, and Professor Flitwick stumbled backwards to get out their way.
The irresponsibility of their actions caused a swift response of anger in the Potions Master, but before he could even channel the anger the Headmaster�s voice rang out sharp and clear.
�Stop this immediately!�
The two witches pulled up in sudden surprise, and even from where he stood below them, Severus could see the realization of what she had done dawning on Madame Hooch�s expressive face. She took a deep breath and motioned the second witch to follow her as she landed neatly in front of Professor Dumbledore, only a faint flush betraying her embarrassment.
Her accomplice landed just as neatly, her feet touching the floor directly in front of Severus, and he got his first good look at his former pupil. The Golden Snitch, realizing it was no longer being pursued, zipped down in front of the two women, and fluttered unnoticed until Severus reached out absentmindedly and plucked it out the air, holding its quivering form gently.
He suddenly understood what a �piercing phase� might be.
�When, Miss McDougall, did I ever give you the impression that I am not serious?� Severus� voice dropped down to a near whisper as he contemplated the young woman before him.
Short, spiked hair, similar to Madame Hooch, although the neon colors were an interesting and blinding addition. Her eyes, Severus was vaguely interested to note, changed color frequently, and he was unable to recall which spell she might have used. But it was the piercings that completed the whole, and �piercings� was exactly what they were.
�What,� Severus asked in somewhat curious voice, �possessed you to punch holes in your body and hang pieces of metal from yourself?�
For Frankie McDougall had not only earrings, which were acceptable, but also a nose ring, an eyebrow ring, and seen only briefly when she spoke, something apparently stuck through her tongue. Severus wondered for only a brief moment where else she might have pierced herself and held back a blush with effort. He forced his eyes to remain steely as she began to answer.
�Well, first of all, Professor Snape, it _is_ my body, and really none of your concern. Second, you are completely out of it if you don�t know that everyone does this today. And I mean everyone.�
�Not everyone, Miss McDougall. I have not noticed anyone in Hogwarts with such decorations,� he said distastefully. �Not among the students, and certainly not among the staff. And as you are now considered part of the staff of this establishment, you will conform to certain expected standards. The hair,� he eyed the top of her head with a frown, �is acceptable, and the eyes as well, though if the students begin to be distracted you will have to adjust accordingly. But a teacher at Hogwarts does not have �piercings�. I hope I have made myself clear?�
Frankie sighed, and her defiance leaked away. �Yes, sir. Perfectly.� She raised her hand to her eyebrow and plucked the offending object off instantly, the nose ring just as swiftly, and the metal ball that went through her tongue was gone. Severus stared.
�They were not true piercings,� he stated with a frown, and Frankie nodded sheepishly.
�I spelled them into place. But everyone else at Salem had them, even most of the teachers.� She spoke defensively, but Severus noted a slightly relieved look in her eyes.
�They all had false piercings?� he inquired with one eyebrow raised.
�No.� Frankie said. �They had real ones. But I can�t stand pain,� she admitted with a blush. �So I faked mine.�
�To �fit in�?� Severus asked, and she nodded, blushing even deeper, and dropped her eyes to the stone floor.
Severus moved over next to her. Her short sleeves revealed a long, white scar down one arm, and he gazed at it for a moment. �It must have been a bit of a shock, to go from Hogwarts to Salem.�
�Yes.�
�To go from being a student to being a teacher,� he added.
�I felt like a fraud. Teaching kids only a couple of years younger than me. I kept thinking they�d see through me, that suddenly they�d realize I wasn�t a real teacher. That I�d make a mistake.�
�Did you?�
�Oh, heavens, yes. Lots. Only one, thank goodness, in front of a class, but it was a doozy. I added pixy toenails to a Redeye Potion. _Before_ the second stage.�
Severus felt a rare smile tugging at his lips. �That must have been quite a show.�
�You�re not kidding. It took me a week to clean up the classroom.� She looked up then and saw his smile, and grinned back a bit self-consciously. �Professor Brierly told me the kids called me Bluebell after that. And not because I was particularly flower-like.�
Severus laughed, startling both himself and Frankie. �How long did it take to wear off?�
�Months. At least I was the only one. Imagine if I had sent the whole of the fourth years home with blue skin?�
�It would have made your reputation,� Severus said with humor.
The candles flickered as they sat quietly and Severus ordered his thoughts. This next must be said carefully.
�Miss McDougall. You are a registered ani-magus.�
She nodded in surprise.
�Your animal form is a crow, is it not?�
�Yes.�
�Professor Dumbledore has asked that I release you from Potions once a week to assist Professor McGonagall.�
�He spoke to me as well. Is this a problem?� she asked. A frown creased her forehead as she stared at his stiff expression.
�Not as such. I merely wish to ask that you keep your practice of this in the Transfigurations classroom.�
She nodded slowly. �Or course, Professor.� She looked as if she wanted to ask him why, and he was relieved when she did not.
His gaze was drawn back to her arm. Unable to ignore his own curiosity, he finally asked, �Where did you get that scar? Another potion gone wrong?� He added a faint smile to his voice, trying to get back the easiness that had been growing between them. To his surprise he felt the tension only grow.
�My father,� she replied after a long moment. �Having a witch for a daughter did not please him.� She stared into the shadows. �Whenever I came home for school holidays he would beat me. So I stopped going home.�
�But why?� Severus asked. �That sounds a bit extreme even for a Muggle.� He was genuinely perplexed, and Frankie merely shrugged.
�Why? Why not? He didn�t need a reason. Smiling when I shouldn�t. Not smiling when I should. Closing the door too loudly. Speaking when not spoken to.� She grinned wryly. �The color of my hair.�
Severus smiled faintly in acknowledgment, and Frankie stood to leave.
�Professor Snape, when I started here at Hogwarts, all the students hated you. They were afraid of you, and they were intimidated by you. I never was. A hateful father is much worse than a hateful teacher. It bothered you, I always thought, that I wasn�t afraid.�
Severus stared at her, his face stiff once more, and he could see Frankie wondering if she�d gone too far. He reached a decision, and muttering a quick �inflammo exstingui�, he doused the candles.
�It is easier for me to be truthful in the dark, Miss McDougall. Please, sit back down.�
Frankie sat, and Severus took a deep breath.
�It did indeed bother me at first. I attempted to make your first year as difficult as I possibly could.�
He could hear the smile in her voice. �Oh, you succeeded, Professor. I never said it was easy. In a funny way, it was what made Potions my favorite class. I was always wondering what you�d come up with next. I learned more from you than from any other teacher here. You never stopped putting challenges in front of me.�
�And you never failed to meet one of them,� he told her.
�Why, Professor Snape, do I hear a hint of approval?�
�Not at all, Miss McDougall,� he said unperturbed. �I have never approved of any of my students.�
Frankie laughed, the sound ringing happily in the dark, and Severus relaxed. They sat comfortably a few minutes more and then Frankie cleared her throat.
�Professor, may I ask you a question?�
�And why, Miss McDougall, do I fear it is a question I don�t wish to answer?�
�What is it about my being an ani-magus that upsets you?�
How to answer such a question, Severus asked himself. The easiness between them faded as he remained silent.
�I�m sorry,� she finally apologized. �I shouldn�t have asked.� She rose once more. �I�ll see you in the morning, Professor.�
He heard her make her way through the dark room. The door to the long hallway opened. The torchlight from the corridor seemed blinding after the dark, and he saw her pause to let her eyes adjust.
�Miss McDougall.�
She turned, her dark form lit from behind.
�Yes, Professor?�
�It is a fair question. One to which you deserve an answer.� He paused, and he saw the stiffness in her shoulders ease. �But I cannot answer it just yet.�
She nodded. �Very well, Professor. Another day.�
�And Miss McDougall? You may call me Severus. _Outside_ of class,� he added in emphasis.
�Only if you call me Frankie. Outside of class,� she said, and he could hear a smile in her voice. The light from the hallway shone on his face, and he sighed deeply.
�If I must, Miss � Frankie. Good evening.�
�Good night, Severus.�
She went out, leaving the door open behind her.
Summer Break
�Severus, if I might have a word...�