Harry Potter

So it's Year 5 for Harry and his friends and some new changes have happened at Hogwarts. There's new teachers, new feelings and old acquaintances.

Star Bailey McPherson had missed the train, so she got to the school at about 2 A.M on the day classes started. Star had long fire engine red hair, it was natural, that was the most quirky thing about it. Her body was hour glass shaped and she was 5'4 and delicate looking. Her eyes were the deepest pools of blue that anyone had ever seen. She was walking through the almost pitch-black corridor, her luggage floating behind her. Her arms were wrapped around a small girl with long flowey black hair much like Severus's. She knew there was bound to be someone to come check on them, with the threat of the dark lord and her walking along a dark corridor at night. She sighed gently standing infront of the beam towards the headmasters office, trying to remember the password. "Lemon.. sherbert.." She said softly, " Crispy kringles.. Blood pop.." She was frustrated and flustered as her daughter moved in her arms.

"The password is lemon drops." A very bored sounding voice drawled from down the dark hallway. The gargoyle jumped to life and moved out of the way. Severus Snape appeared from the shadows. "I cannot understand why Dumbledore is letting both of you teach at the same time." He scowled slightly. "But Miss Maxwell was on time...for once. I don't see any reason why you would be late if she could make it."

Star spun around, her daughter still in her arms. "My daughter had a fever. I had to go to the hospital." She said softly, looking at Severus. "Thank you for the password.." She said calmly, stepping onto the step quickly.

Belle stirred slightly, "Mum.. are we there yet?" She said softly and the stood on her own two feet, her eyes and hair and even build strikingly similar to Severus's own, she stared at him for a moment and then the gargoyle went up and Star had gotten her key for her private Chambers and also had her daughter sorted, the final verdict? Gryffindor.

The look on Snape's face when he saw Belle was one of complete shock and utter disbelief. "That cannot be...." He muttered to himself as the gargoyle hopped back into place. He shook it off and continued on with his patrols.

The next morning was one of many trials. Star led her daughter in. Now that she was in the light, the only thing Belle didn't have was Severus's nose. Belle took a seat at the Gryffindor table, before she took her seat, right by Severus and she sighed gently. She started to eat her breakfast. "Good morning." She said to the teachers who acknowledged her.

Snape didn't even look at her when she sat next to him. "Good morning." he greeted curtly.

"Oi!" A young girl slid into the seat on the other side of Star. She didn't look much older than some of the seventh years but she was wearing teachers' robes. She had long black hair with oddly natural white highlights that was pulled back into a messy ponytail at the base of her neck and she had vibrant red eyes. "You must be Star. I'm Rei and I'm teaching DADA with you." The girl was apparently pretty happy to be there.

"Good morning.." She said softly in Severus's direction and then she looked at Rei, "Good morning.. It's nice to meet you Rei.. I'm Star Bailey, please just pick one of those names.."

The small girl came bounding up to the teachers table and up close, she was very pretty and much more delicate than Severus, but the looks were still there. "Mum.. I have defence against the dark arts first.. Will I be seeing you?" She grinned softly at her mom, and then her eyes caught Severus's frame. She looked away quickly though.

Rei's eyes drifted back and forth between Severus and the girl. "Wow. Your resemblance is uncanny. Is she yours or something?" She directed that towards Snape, who gave her a look of loathing.

"May I remind you, Miss Maxwell, that while you may not be my student any longer, I still hold seniority over you and will not tolerate such questions." He said, curtly.

"Well, I've gotta be on some sort of equal standing with you here 'cos I'm teaching now but you might still be a little higher up 'cos you've been here sooo long and..." Rei began to ramble.

"Just what are you insinuating? That I'm old?" He interrupted.

"Uh, no...that's not...um...I'm goin' over here now." Rei quickly shuffled off towards the other end of the table where Hagrid greeted her with a hearty pat on the back that promptly knocked her over.

Belle ran off and Star pushed her plate back. She leaned back in her seat, sipping at her orange juice. She glanced at Severus softly and then looked back down. "You're looking well, like we never left really." She said softly.

Snaps was scowling slightly as he glanced at Star. "Who is she?" It was obvious that he was talking about Belle.

Star blinked, "That's my daughter. Belle Elizabeth.." She shook her head, "Didn't I tell you this the other night?" She stood up and then left, trying to avoid the question that would no doubt come next.

Snape was nearly seething by this point. He did not like being avoided like that. He stood and swooped out of the Great Hall, stalking down to the dungeons to prepare for his first class. He would deal with her later.

Rei had left after she had managed to pull herself away from Hagrid and his apologies. She had gone to the DADA classroom to start setting up for their first lesson.

Bailey was standing in there when she came, "Hey, Rei.." She grinned, "We're teaching them Flippendo this first class, right?" She said softly, looking through the log books.

"That seems a little tame for seventh years." Rei frowned slightly as she flipped through the book.

Snape had already delivered his usual speech to the first years and was now shooting random questions off. "What potion would you get if you mixed powdered asphodel in an infusion of wormwood, valerian roots, and sopophorous beans?"

"Oh shit, Sorry. My timetable says first years.." She frowned softly and then grinned softly, pulling out the 7th year timetable.

Belle raised her hand quietly, "That's the Draught of the living dead, Professor." She said meekly, she was a shy little thing, "It's a extremely strong sleeping potion, that would probably be about 6 or 7 sleep aids in the muggle world." She said matter of factly.

Rei flipped through a few of her papers. "Why do I not have any of the seventh year stuff?" She frowned slightly. "D'you have any of it?" She glanced at the door as a few students started trickling in.

Snape trained his harsh gaze on Belle apparently not phased in the least. "Well, Miss McPherson, let's see how much you really know. What is a bezoar and what are it's properties?"

Bailey handed her her book. "That's all.." She muttered softly. "It's pretty pathetic, actually.. A page and a half for an entire year of schooling?"

"A bezoar is found in the stomach of a goat, it's a stone usually, you can ingest it and it will cure most poisons." She said simply, lacing her fingers together. "It also can be used as an anti nausea device, although I don't reccomend that because if you're not poisoned, it can leave some really nasty side affects.." She said simply.

"Well, shit." Rei scowled slightly. She glanced over what little the book gave them. "What d'you wanna start with?"

Snape's eyes narrowed. "What would you get if you mixed lacewing flies that were stewed for twenty-one days, leeches, powdered bicorn horn, knotgrass, fluxweed picked at the full moon, and shredded boomslang skin, along with bits and pieces of a human?"

"I guess teaching them 7th level defensive spells would work." Bailey shrugged gently.

"Polyjuice potion, provided you added enough of every ingredient and didn't add any animal hair or DNA." She said softly.

Snape scowled slightly. "Ten points from Gryffindor. We do not need another Granger." He stated curtly and continued on with the lesson.

"I suppose." Rei frowned slightly. "This job must really be cursed." She sighed and glanced around the classroom. It was mostly full by this point since class had just started. Rei began to go through the roll. Once she had gotten only a few names down the list, two tall, lanky, freckled twins slid into the room, out of breath, both grinning from ear to ear.

"Sorry." They straightened up and began to search for spare seats.

"You must be the Weasleys." Rei glanced down at the roster and frowned.

"Yep. I'm Fred and that's George." George had already found a seat in one of the middle rows, leaving the only free seat in the very front of the classroom. "Are you seriously our teacher?"

"Yeah. Her too." Rei gestured at Bailey. "Now sit down so we can get on with it."

"How old are you? You can't be much older than we are." Fred seemed very amused by all this as he slowly moseyed up towards the free seat.

"I don't see how that's any of your business." Rei scowled.

"What house were you in?"

"Slytherin."

"How long's it been since you graduated?"

"Four years."

"Ah-ha! So you're twenty-one." Fred grinned, apparently very proud of himself.

"Aargh." Rei scowled again. "Detention."

"What for?" He seemed very taken aback by this.

"For holding up the class. Now sit down."

"But I was just asking some harmless questions." He smirked slightly.

"But not relevant." Rei frowned. "A week of detention for you now sit down and shut up." She growled slightly at this and Fred finally sat down.

Belle frowned and almost broke down into tears that morning. and when it was night time, Star was patrolling the hallway, the other teacher on shift, Severus.

She just had to make sure that she didn't run into him that's all, and then the question would be totally avoided. And she wouldn't have to answer it. She walked along quickly, through the hall, watching for students that should have been asleep.

But, of course, they bumped into each other, almost literally as Snape came around one corner quicker than he should have. He just stared at her in silence for a few moments.

Star had her wand aimed at his face and Lumos was shimmering of it. " Don't do that." She said, her heart almost beating in her throat. "I thought you were patrolling downstairs. I can handle three floors on my own."

Snape didn't respond to that. He just stared at her for a few more moments in silence. "Who is she really?"