Another larger non-moving picture of her, Luk and Remus hung from the left wall. It was taken just after she had graduated from college and had returned home from the States. They were hamming it up next to Luk's white 1990 Vauxhall Corsa near the outskirts of London. They had found an American tourist to take their picture before they went to celebrate Deveroux's return "to the Mother Country" from the States until the wee hours of the morning.

Deveroux had made her office her sanctuary, a place to go when she needed a quiet moment. But the flowers, the lights and other decorations brought little solace this evening -- the room's soothing effects seemed to be wearing off bit by bit as time had progressed at the school.

It seemed like such a good idea to come to the school to teach, Deveroux thought as she stared at a painting she had hanging on the far wall. The painting depicted a scene from the old saga of the Elf Queen Lamia and the last great battle between the elves and the dark elf Borjigon K'ha Kahn and the underworld demons at Duendeseil, the last elven stronghold. Aurellia was very fond of the painting, which she had found while she and Luk were in London window shopping at the various stores. They had been looking for furnishings and decorations for the home they had just bought -- a three-bedroom detached home in a quiet, pleasant Muggle neighborhood in Cambridge. They had bought the house a few years after Luk received his promotion as Watcher with the ministry of magic, two years before she obtained her barrister's degree at Holborn College. Aurellia had spied the painting inside an antiques shop, and before she knew what she was doing, she had purchased it. Luk had teased her a bit for her impulsiveness, but she had no regrets. She smiled sadly at the memory, and her eyes misted. So much had changed since that happy day.

A soft tapping sound and a plaintive hooting jogged Deveroux out of her reflections. Turning, she recognized Lupin's barn owl, Gremlin. Excitedly, she opened her office window, and the barn owl flew in and landed on her desk. She reached into her drawer and took out a couple of owl treats from a bag Hagrid, the groundskeeper and Care of Magical Creatures professor, had kindly given her for such occasions. The owl hungrily gobbled up the goodies.

Deveroux removed the note attached to the owl as Gremlin regarded her with his dark, knowing eyes.

"Dearest Ari," the note read.
"How's the prettiest teacher at Hogwarts?"

Deveroux grinned at that -- Lupin could be such a silly flatterer!

"Things are busy here ... something's going on at the ministry. Something big. I have a feeling something will break soon, but I'm not certain what. Drop me a note to let me know how you are doing! Kindest regards - Remus."

Deveroux placed the letter down on her desk and pulled out a clean sheet of parchment paper. She grabbed her quill and penned the following reply:

"Dear, dear Remus!
"It is wonderful hearing from you ... I feel I've been shut away completely from the outside world, and even in a big castle like this, I sometimes feel claustrophobic.
"My first two weeks have been just smashing, and I say this with all due sarcasm. I've managed to alienate most of the faculty here already. I had questioned Professors McGonagall and Flitwick on the points system here. It seems so silly and arbitrary! Besides, it's dividing the houses, when we should be uniting them. However, I forgot that I'm not in the States, where most professors welcome such questions. McGonagall was quite infuriated with me, and I think I've permanently scared off Professor Flitwick.
"I was so hoping to hit it off with Professor Sprout since we have so much in common. I was so happy when she gave me one of her potted plants ... but then I nearly killed it! Magic plants are so different from the ones I'm used to. I did not know that some plants could catch colds when left near an open window overnight! I think the plant has, by now, gotten over its bad cold -- I sincerely hope it has -- but she hasn't spoken to me much since. I think Sprout was offended that I nearly killed her prize African flytrap.
"The Divinations Teacher, Professor Trelawney, offered to read my horoscope. I politely refused -- I never thought much of that tarot and fortunetelling nonsense! I think she picked up on my skepticism though, and I think she was hurt.
"The only teacher I haven't driven away is Hagrid. He is such a sweetheart. I would think it would take a lot to get under his skin. Very dear man, although he has interesting ideas on what makes a good 'pet.' I met his dog, "Fluffy" the other day. It nearly scared me to death, but Hagrid played it a bit of music, and Fluffy -- what a name for such a monstrous dog! -- was as tame as a lamb. Hagrid said that Fluffy liked me, but I wasn't certain I wanted to push my luck beyond petting one of its noses. Those three heads all have very sharp teeth! I had fun watching Hagrid and Fluffy play a rather unusual -- and at times heartstopping -- game of 'fetch.' Fluffy is living wild in the forests now, but he still comes to visit Hagrid from time to time, I guess. Also, I've heard students mutter during mealtimes something about Hagrid and "Blast-Ended Skrewts," then shuddering as if they've seen a zombie. Does this mean anything to you?
"Most of my classes and students are great -- my classes are the only things keeping me sane at this point. Most of my pupils, at least, seem pretty forgiving of my occasional errors and different methods. Several of the students from Slytherin House tend to give me some problems -- there is a rumor going around that I'm Muggle-born, and I haven't seen fit to dispel that. But many Slytherins seem to see this as an awful thing. The whole 'pure blood' argument perplexes me greatly, and the appalling lack of knowledge many of my students have of the non-magic world is alarming. I've tried to approach Professor Binns and Professor Mundanus about this, but again, I only managed to alienate them. This school, I'm finding out, is very fond of its traditions and doesn't take well to a young upstart like me trying to change things.
"And then there is Professor Snape. The headmaster shouldn't be worried about Snape being in harm's way because of You Know Who, because if that man calls me 'foolish child,' 'bauble,' or 'little girl' again, I'll choke him with my bare hands! Not even in the courthouses -- which are mostly male-dominated institutions -- have I ever seen or heard such flagrant condescension! I even overheard him once talking to Draco Malfoy, one of his pet pupils from the looks of it, who was complaining about my teaching methods. Malfoy was griping that they were too 'Mugglish'. What he meant by that, I don't know but I'm sure I don't like it! Speaking of which, that Malfoy brat and his two cronies Crabbe and Goyle are more trouble sometimes then any 12 of my legal clients ever were -- combined.
"After Malfoy was done with his rather rude assessment of my teaching skills, Snape merely looked amused and told him that he should be patient, that it wasn't really my fault, because what could a pretty little girl like me know about teaching, and that Dumbledore was expecting too much of me and so on and so forth. And he had the nerve to say -- to a student, mind you! -- that sooner or later Dumbledore would wise up, sack me, and hire a real teacher (meaning himself, I imagine). This seemed to placate the little Slytherin hoodlums, but after they left, I cornered the rat and told him in no uncertain terms about how wrong he was in his assessment of me. Someday I'm going to give him a 'demonstration' of my teaching skills if he keeps testing my patience!
"This, by the way, happened just a few days ago. So far, Snape has stopped talking to me altogether, and this does not displease me in the least because the man has a snarl and a sneering voice that would make the likes of Christopher Lee or Alan Rickman green with envy. Nevertheless he still peeks into my classroom on a regular basis. Does he usually do that with the new teachers? I'm beginning to wonder if some of my students are right - that he's spying on me, waiting for the slightest error so he can report it to Dumbledore, or worse -- the Board of Governors. At any rate, Snape is posing more of a challenge than I could have imagined. He's about as easy to tolerate as an infestation of imps. I can't believe this is the man Dumbledore asked me to Watch. If he needs protection from anyone, it will be from me at the rate he's going!
"I really appreciate your letter - it's nice to have a sympathetic ear to vent on! Dumbledore, as always, is a dear man, but he has been so busy lately, I hate to bother him. And he has been going around with this worried look on his face lately, whenever he thinks no one is watching.
Affectionately, Ari.
P.S. Thanks for the warning about the Ministry. I'll keep my eyes and ears open, and I'll say something to the headmaster if I get a chance."

Deveroux attached the new note to the barn owl's leg and watched as the owl flew out into the night air. It was nice to be able to confide in someone about her difficulties at Hogwarts, Deveroux thought as she shut the window again.

She had trained with both Lupin and Dumbledore in the two months before school started at The Allee, the well-known wizarding training hall where teachers and adult witches and wizards went to further their magical education. Dumbledore had his own private quarters there since he occasionally taught courses there during summer vacation, and the headmaster and Remus worked with Aurellia in the practice rooms. It was a very intensive two-month crash-course. "Magic For Dummies" is what Aurellia jokingly referred to it as, but it had worn her out and left her feeling only somewhat prepared for the school year by the time the students arrived. Learning the magical arts was hard enough, she had discovered. But learning to think like a witch instead of a Muggle after having hidden her abilities for so many years ... that was much more difficult, next to impossible!

But at least the intense work at the Allee took her mind off of other things, such as why she had been in St. Mungo's for two weeks prior to meeting Dumbledore. Deveroux tried to push the memory away, but couldn't ....

The locket ... the locket ... it had become hot ... red hot .... Danger ....

"Luk, put your wand down and talk to me! Put it down!"

"I had heard he was back, and both Sirius and Remus had said it. But Fudge, he wouldn't listen ... I saw the Dark Lord with my own eyes. Three nights ago. There is no hope for us, now. I am so sorry ...."

"Noooo!!!!!"

Then suffocating pain, stabbing agony ... then complete darkness.

Deveroux shook her head, wrenching herself free of the memory.

Coming here to teach, leaving the home that had so many haunted memories and escaping her job as a public defender ... a job she had grown disillusioned with ... had seemed like such a good idea, she thought for the hundredth time that week. But she had begun to wonder after her first meeting with the Hogwart's staff, and Snape in particular, if coming here hadn't been a terrible mistake.

****

It had been a sweltering August day, about a week before the beginning of the school year when the teachers had gathered at Hogwarts for the traditional informal faculty reunion meeting. For the others it was old hat, a chance to catch up on gossip, argue about world events, trade summer vacation stories, and prepare themselves for the gearing up of another school year. For Aurellia Deveroux, however, the faculty meeting turned out to be somewhat of a gauntlet.

"Ahem."

The quietly chatting teachers looked up at Dumbledore's throat-clearing to see him standing next to their former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher from the year before last, Remus Lupin. And next to Lupin stood a very young, petite blond woman whom none of them recognized. She was wearing a simple, floor-length lavender dress, which while not exactly outside wizarding dress codes, was rather...odd, eccentric. Mugglish.

"I would like all of you to meet our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Aurellia Deveroux," Dumbledore continued. "Remus Lupin himself recommended her."

McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout all exchanged looks. Wonder how long this one will last? they each seemed to think. Hogwarts had never had much luck retaining Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, after all, and now Dumbledore had hired this young girl ....
"Deveroux?" McGonagall replied politely. "My dear, I don't recognize that name. Where is your family from?"

A small shadow crossed the young teacher's face, but it quickly disappeared. "They live in Harrow, just outside London. My father is a judge with the London courts, my mother a court clerk."

"Professor Deveroux herself is a legal eagle," Lupin said proudly. "And a smashing good one ... she was in the top 10 percent on her Bar exam."

"Oh? Then you used to work for the Ministry's legal department?" Professor Sprout asked, and the other teachers exchanged hopeful looks.

"No," Deveroux replied. "I worked through the London courts, same as my parents. First as a solicitor, then in the past year as a barrister."

The hopeful thoughts were dashed. Muggle courts???

Dumbledore, sensing the tension, quickly took Deveroux by the arm and proceeded to introduce her to all of the staff one by one. He hoped that Aurellia's intelligence, confidence and wit would quickly win over the others as she had won him over the day Lupin had introduced her to him. His hopes were mostly in vain.

"Aurellia, this is Professor Minerva McGonagall," Dumbledore said, introducing the young professor to the older, stern-looking woman in forest green robes. Her hair was done in a tight bun, and she peered at Deveroux from over her glasses. "Our Transfiguration expert," Dumbledore added.

"How do you do?" McGonagall said politely, and she extended a hand. Deveroux shook hands and tried not to notice as the stern female professor cast Dumbledore a look Deveroux couldn't have missed had she been blind. It said quite clearly, "You are out of your mind!"

Dumbledore returned McGonagall's look with a stern look of his own, and next led Aurellia over to a gray-haired, plumper witch in a simple gray dress and apron.

"This is Professor Hyacinth Sprout," Dumbledore said. "Our Herbology professor. I think you two will find much common ground, no pun intended. Professor Deveroux is quite the gardener."

"Oh, how wonderful!" Professor Sprout replied warmly as she extended her hand. Sprout seemed far more open, more friendly than the formidable-looking Transfiguration professor. "What kinds of plants do you like?"

Deveroux grinned. "Impatiens, poppies, lilacs, roses .. I love tea roses ..."

The smile on the Herbology professor's face tightened a bit. Muggle plants? "Well, luv, if you like, I have a bumper crop of African Venus Flytraps. If you would like one for your office," Sprout continued gamely.

Deveroux's eyes brightened. "Why thank you! That is very kind ... I've never had the pleasure of taking care of one of those before, or any magical ..." Lupin nudged her in the ribs, and she flushed, realizing she had probably just said far too much about her inexperience with magical plants ... and magic in general.

But it was too late, the damage was done. "Where ... did you go to school, my dear?" McGonagall asked, her eyes narrowing into slits.

"I went to the local schools near London, except my last year of public education, where I went to the States. I went to Holborn College for both my solicitor's license and barrister's degree," Deveroux said nervously. "I went to The University of Akron my senior year as part of an exchange program to study American law and to teach workshops on the laws in Great Britain."

More mutterings from the teachers, and Deveroux thought she heard someone mutter "Yankified to boot." The new Defense teacher shot Dumbledore a worried look, but he merely led her to another professor, a tiny man sitting on top of a maroon-colored cushion with gold fringe.

"This is Professor Flitwick, our Charms professor," Dumbledore continued.

"Howdeedo?" Flitwick squeaked out, and he tentatively offered a hand. Deveroux shook it gingerly and was pleased to note that she got out of that exchange without putting her foot in her mouth, mainly because Flitwick didn't have time to ask her any questions before Dumbledore bustled her away to meet the next teacher.

"Over there is Professor Binns, our history teacher," Dumbledore pointed to a wrinkled ghost, who stared back at the new teacher with disinterest. Aurellia's eyes widened in surprise. She had, of course, heard that ghosts dwelt in Hogwarts (and was warned more than a few times about a pesky, troublesome poltergeist named Peeves), but this was the first time she had actually seen one. And a teacher besides! What a strange place Hogwarts was! Her startled look did not go unnoticed by the other teachers.

"This is Rubeus Hagrid, our groundskeeper and Care of Magical Creatures professor," Dumbledore said, indicating an enormous man with shaggy black hair, an oilskin coat and black, twinkling eyes.

"How do yeh do, Perfessor Deveroux?" Hagrid said as he extended a huge paw out to her. His one hand could easily cover both of hers, she thought as she shook hands with him.

Deveroux liked him instantly (although she did have to rub her hand a bit to get the circulation flowing after shaking hands with him.) There was something warm, genuine, and sweet about this gentle giant of a wizard.

"Hagrid can show you where our Owlery is located, and take you on a tour of our grounds," Dumbledore continued. "If you don't object, Rubeus?"

"It will be a pleasure," Hagrid said, grinning broadly.

"You do know, I hope, how our owl post works?" McGonagall asked, glaring daggers at Dumbledore, who pointedly ignored the looks.

Luk, her cousin, had received occasional owls from the ministry, where he had worked covertly in numerous odd jobs. Deveroux remembered him teaching her how to watch for them, care for them, how to unattach messages, and how to send the owls on to their destinations.

"There is no hope for us, now. I am so sorry ...." The memory of that horrible afternoon. Deveroux closed her eyes, fighting the images that wanted to haunt her, overwhelm her ....

A gentle hand on her shoulder mercifully broke through her thoughts. Lupin looked down on her, concerned. He knew what she was thinking about.

"Yes," she said finally. "I --I know how the owl post works."

"That's a surprise," muttered a teacher with curly, whitish hair and startling yellow eyes. She was quickly shushed by Sprout and Flitwick.

"I meant no offense," McGonagall said uncertainly, wondering why Deveroux had seemed to drift into a reverie.

"No offense taken, Professor McGonagall," Deveroux replied, her voice still a bit shaky.

Dumbledore led Deveroux to the next teacher, the one with yellow eyes. "This is Madam Hooch. She teaches the first years how to fly on broomsticks."

Hooch extended a hand and smiled uncertainly at the young professor. "Hi. How much do you know about flying a broom?"

Very blunt, this one, Deveroux thought.

"Not much," Deveroux said. "And I confess, I'm not very good. But I've only tried it a couple of times." Deveroux was fudging a bit here, and she knew it. Both times she was on a broom, she was a passenger. She had never really flown one. There had been no time to teach that particular skill during her two months at the Allee.

Now there were quiet titters from all over the teacher's lounge.

Oh, this is not going well, Deveroux thought. And she hadn't even met ....

And there he was, sitting apart from the other teachers, reading "200 Undetectable Poisons and their Antidotes." He looked at her with unbridled contempt when she and Dumbledore approached him.

"This is Professor Severus Snape," Dumbledore said. "Our Potions master."

Dumbledore needn't have bothered with an introduction, Deveroux thought as she met the Potions master's black gaze. Before they had come to Hogwarts, Lupin had given her a few details on the potions teacher. Snape was rather thin, tall, brooding, almost always projecting an air of arrogance and aloofness with an underlying layer of menace. Except for the times when his temper flared up and the fiery malice that usually lay dormant under his cold exterior came rushing to the surface like a pyroclastic eruption. Snape's hair was black and oily, and hung almost to his shoulders in greasy strands. His skin was sallow, almost the color of bleached parchment. But his cold reptilian eyes were what spooked her the most about him. They were black as pitch, and seemed bottomless. No hint of kindness could be seen in those eyes, nor even the knowledge or memory of warmth. She had seen eyes like his once before during one of her first -- and last -- cases as a barrister.

"Now, Mr. Rundt, you have been charged with the murder of your wife and her mother. You have seven witnesses who place you at the scene, two who claim they saw you do it. I won't sugar-coat it for you ... the best I can probably do is to find you not guilty by reason of insanity, and the defense has a good deal of proof on your premeditation of this. But you have to listen to me...." Deveroux said, impatient and exasperated. The things she had to do for her job!

"No," the big man frowned down on her, gazing at her with those cold, black, souless eyes. "You get me outta this place. I want out. Now!"

"That is out of the question. The judge won't even post bond. He won't hear ...."

The chains holding the convict back suddenly snapped, and George Rundt lunged at her, snarling like a rabid mongrel ....

Had Deveroux not had quick reflexes, and had she not taken basic self defense and martial arts courses, and had it not been for the prompt response of the guards, that could have gone very badly, she thought with a shudder. Definitely one of "London's Finest," as the court office called hardened criminals.

Now this creep, one of her own co-workers and the man she was supposed to be Watching, didn't look any more stable or trustworthy. And he was a wizard on top of that. A volatile one too, from what Remus had told her about his years at Hogwarts.

Snape, meanwhile, regarded the young professor with a mix of disgust and contempt. "Dumbledore," Snape said in a low voice. He never took his eyes off of Deveroux, who returned his gaze unflinchingly. "If you have a single grain of the wisdom you are rumored to possess, you will take this little girl back home to her parents. They, no doubt, are wondering where their child is."

Deveroux's blood began to boil, and she curled her fingers into her palms. She had only just met this jerk and she was already beginning to hate him with a passion. This did not bode well for the whole Watching thing....

But Snape was not done. "These are very dangerous times in the wizarding world. We cannot afford to have this bauble in place of a real teacher. I would have thought that you had more sense than this. Apparently I was wrong."

"How dare ...?" Deveroux began, furious. She felt Lupin's hand on her shoulder, and she clamped her jaw shut. But her the intensity of her glare easily matched Snape's condescending glower.

"Now Severus, it is unfair for you to judge another teacher until you've seen her work. Especially since you were a year or two younger than her when you started teaching here." Lupin stated mildly. "She'll be a competent enough teacher, and she's had some previous teaching experience. She knows more than a thing or two about magic, despite her lack of formal schooling. The last couple of times we practiced sparring, she beat me ... and I wasn't holding back."

"Do you expect me to be impressed by that, Lupin?" Snape sneered. He still hadn't taken his cold gaze off the new Defense teacher.

"I have every confidence that Professor Deveroux will be an asset to Hogwarts," Dumbledore cut in before Lupin could reply. He stroked his beard thoughtfully and looked keenly at the Potions master, who was still trying to stare down an unflinching Deveroux. Instant reciprocal animosity, he noted with a bit of worry. This could get ugly.

McGonagall snorted and butted into the conversation. "With all due respect, headmaster, Quirrell, Lockhart, the phony Moody ... not your most, ahem, stellar finds for this position."

"Not to mention the werewolf," Snape said, his lip curling again in a sneer. Lupin flushed, but Deveroux didn't so much as twitch. Her eyes narrowed and her glare merely intensified.

Dumbledore decided to quickly intercede in the staring duel between the two before the new Defense teacher and the temperamental Potions master started thinking about drawing wands. Snape might not see her as a potential threat, but Dumbledore had worked diligently with Aurellia for almost two months already, and he knew how formidable and dangerous she could be, especially when she was angry. And if Snape and McGonagall kept pushing it, she was going to explode. The headmaster gently took Deveroux by the arm and led her away from the still glowering Snape. She cast the Potions master one more withering look over her shoulder before turning away.

"Professor Sybill Trelawney is our Divinations professor," Dumbledore said as Deveroux heard McGonagall snort in disgust. The young Defense teacher took small comfort in realizing that she wasn't the only teacher looked down on. "She's not here right now, usually doesn't leave the tower, but you'll probably see her at the feast in two days. And there's Argus Filch, the caretaker. He has a rough manner, but I promise you his bark is much worse than his bite. There are also a few others you will most likely get to know before the end of the day. Now Remus, would you take our new professor to the kitchens for a quick sup? I'm sure she must be starved by now."

Deveroux realized that she was indeed hungry. Butterflies at the anticipated trip to Hogwarts had left her little appetite for breakfast, and it was now going on 3. She nodded gratefully, and she followed Lupin out of the teachers lounge.

They hadn't been gone two seconds when the shouting started.

"Albus Dumbledore!!!! Have you gone completely round the bend???" they both heard McGonagall holler. "What are you thinking? Hiring a Muggle-born with no formal magic training?"

"However did you manage to get this one past the Board of Governors? Forged papers?" came Hooch's acid remark.

"I thought you had found someone with the ministry who was willing to come down to teach for a year or two?" Professor Sprout asked.

"That ... fell through," Dumbledore replied carefully.

"Why, what happened?" Flitwick squeaked.

"He died," the headmaster replied. "Very unexpectedly, to say the least."

Deveroux gave an involuntary shudder and closed her eyes. Lupin gripped her shoulder sympathetically and tried to steer her faster to the Great Hall. But they could still hear snatches of heated conversation.

"Albus, this is an insult," they heard the low, dangerous voice of Snape say. "An insult worse than Gilderoy Lockhart! You know I've wanted that position for years!"

Dumbledore said something in reply, but Deveroux didn't quite catch it. Angered, she halted, grabbed Lupin's arm and dragged him to a stand-still beside her. She fixed Lupin with an accusing glare, and Lupin looked away guiltily.

"You never told me that he's been after my job! Rather large omission, wouldn't you say?"

"Sorry, Ari ... it was unintentional. But yes, he's wanted the Defense position for some time."

"Then why doesn't Dumbledore just give it to him, instead of dragging me to this circus sideshow?"

"The headmaster ... has his reasons."

"Oh? Afraid he might kill or maim someone?"

They were interrupted by a loud "slam," and turned to see the Potions master striding down the hall in the opposite direction from them, black cape billowing behind him in the wake of his wrath.

"Remus? Is it too late to say I quit and leave?"

"Yes."

"In that case, when this does not work out -- and I am becoming increasingly convinced that it will not -- and I am tossed out on my tailbone with a 'thank you for your time, now beat it and don't come back again,' you will owe me big time. You realize that."

"I figured as much. But don't give up so soon, Ari. Things may yet work out." He gave Deveroux an encouraging wink, but she merely snorted and strode off down the hallway, and Lupin had to sprint to catch up.