A/N: Chapter beta read by Forty-Two Dreams. All remaining mistakes are mine.

CHAPTER 2
STAFF MEETING

Soon after dinner, all of Hogwarts's teachers were in Professor Dumbledore's office for the staff meeting.

"Ladies, Gentlemen," the Headmaster began, "I asked you to come here to talk about the patrols inside the school. Minerva and I took the liberty to establish schedules according to your lessons' timetables. We sincerely hope they will suit all of you."

When Dumbledore was done, McGonagall distributed to each of them a parchment detailing his or her own patrol.

"Thank you Professor," the DADA teacher murmured when given his parchment.

"Oh come on Mizar, you are no longer a student. You can call me Minerva," suggested McGonagall.

"All right, Minerva…" Ursaglow replied shyly and blushed slightly, while Snape rolled his eyes. Why was he the only one to notice the young man didn't belong among them?

Dumbledore remained silent for a few minutes to allow everyone to discover his or her schedule before asking, "Does any of you have any questions?"

"I have one," Endora Wilson said hesitatingly. "I… noticed there were many night watches…"

"Absolutely," replied the Headmaster. "Since night is the students' favoured moment for mischief, the night watches are extremely important. But you might have noticed as well that night watches are always scheduled when you have no early lesson to teach the next morning."

The Charms teacher nodded though she was still frowning at her parchment.

Oh, the poor little witch wouldn't be able to get her beauty sleep… Snape thought with a snort. She should have thought about it before applying for the position. Being a Professor at Hogwarts wasn't all about teaching a couple of classes every now and then like some lazy witches seemed to think.

Snape realised he was in a particularly foul mood this evening. He couldn't wait for this meeting to be over so he could go back to his dungeons and spend some relaxing time brewing a couple of potions.

"If no one else has any questions…" Dumbledore paused to allow anyone who wanted to speak to do so. When no one did, he went on, "then I will wish a good night to all of you." As everyone began standing up he added, "Minerva, Severus, Endora, I would like to speak to the three of you privately."

Marvellous, Snape thought while sinking back in his armchair. What could it be about now? It couldn't be a Heads of Houses meeting, for Professor Sprout hadn't been invited, and if it was about the Order, why ask Professor Wilson to stay? Could she be a member of the Order as well?

Oh great, Snape thought ironically, she would certainly be their best asset during the war against Voldemort, always complaining she couldn't get enough sleep… But it could have been worse, after all. It could have been Mizar Ursaglow, Snape mused with a shiver. Had it been so the Dark Lord would probably already be ruling over the entire world--either that or he would have died laughing at the sight of the young wizard.

Once everyone except all four of them had left, Dumbledore spoke up.

"As you might all have noticed, Voldemort has grown more and more powerful these last two years, and it has become clear that the final battle against him is impending."

So it was an Order of the Phoenix's meeting, Snape concluded.

"The Order's actions will be valuable everywhere so as to destabilise Voldemort," Dumbledore went on, "but will be all the more important here, in Hogwarts. Knowing Tom, he will certainly want to mark the beginning of hostilities with a brilliant feat, something symbolic. Hence, I fear he might try to attack the school soon, some time during the year. We must ensure the security of our students at all costs."

The Headmaster paused. Everyone was listening to him intently.

"Endora, you were already working for the Order at your last position abroad, but here my demands will be more specific. First, Professor Flitwick used to be in charge of the charms protecting Hogwarts, so could you check those already in place?"

"Of course," the young witch agreed.

"Good." Dumbledore nodded. "Feel free to improve the protections as needed. Second, I know you specialise in Charms concealment, so you could probably add some tricks of your own. Something Voldemort wouldn't expect. Something that would take him and his followers by surprise. Something that could give us an advantage, even the slightest, even just to delay him."

"All right," she replied with a slightly wicked smile. "I already have a couple of ideas that could give him trouble."

"Excellent," Dumbledore said before turning to Snape. "Severus, your position is, as always, the most delicate. As ever, be extremely careful. The information you provide us is absolutely vital. Do not endanger your life."

Snape couldn't believe the old wizard was telling him not to endanger his life. Joining the Dark Lord a second time to spy on him was exactly what he should not have done in order to remain safe. Of course, Voldemort had punished him greatly for not returning to his side the first time he felt the Dark Mark again and had put Snape in a terrible torment when he came back at last. But the Order needed it, needed his sacrifice to get information about the Dark Lord and his followers. And remembering the burden he had on his shoulders didn't make Snape's mood any better.

However, Snape gave a sharp nod.

"We will hold meetings on a regular basis all along the year," the Headmaster went on. "The dates will always be decided at the last moment, and either Minerva or I will let the two of you know. Is that all right?"

Both Snape and Wilson nodded.

"Thanks to all of you and good evening," Dumbledore concluded.

Snape immediately stood up and left the Headmaster's office hurriedly, eager to get to his classroom, and strode towards the dungeons.

"Hey!"

Snape only had the time to stop to find Ursaglow already standing next to him. Had the boy been waiting for him outside Dumbledore's office?

"I've been waiting for you!" the young man said enthusiastically.

Yes he had… Snape thought with a silent sigh. Where was a particularly wild Bludger when you needed one? Or just a starving dragon, he wasn't picky…

Snape decided to ignore the annoying wizard and started walking towards the dungeons once more. And had the great displeasure to notice that said annoying wizard was following him.

"Where are you going so hurriedly?" Ursaglow asked.

"To the dungeons," Snape replied coldly between gritted teeth.

"Oh, you're going to prepare some potions, aren't you? What are you working on these days, Severus?"

Snape instantly froze and turned back to face the young DADA teacher.

"Allow me to clear up one point, Professor Ursaglow," he began with a slow and menacing voice. "I will not accept such familiarity from you, hence forth you will call me Professor Snape and never use my first name again. Unless you wish to die a slow and extremely painful death, of course, which I would be extremely eager to provide you, should you forget my recommendations. Was that clear enough for you?"

Ursaglow gulped audibly, much to Snape's delight. The young man also seemed a bit paler than a minute before.

"Yes Professor," Mizar eventually said.

"Excellent," Snape concluded before turning on his heels and striding towards the dungeons again.

"So, what potion are you working on, Professor?" Ursaglow asked earnestly as if nothing had been said before--and he was still following him.

Did that boy have the memory of a flobberworm or had he just decided to dedicate the rest of his life to make Snape's a total hell? Seriously, one could wonder.

Snape stopped walking--again--and turned to the DADA teacher. "Don't you have something else to do? Or someone else to bother? Or at least somewhere else to be?"

Ursaglow stared at him with puzzlement. "What are you talking about?"

"I am talking about you leaving me alone," Snape hissed.

"Why would I leave you alone?" Ursaglow replied at a total loss.

As Severus was about to reply something along the lines of 'Why would I allow you to live otherwise?', the new Charms teacher walked up to them. Fantastic, Snape thought sarcastically, that was exactly what he needed…

"Mizar," she said, "I think Professor Dumbledore is asking for you."

"Oh, is it about opening a duelling club again?" Ursaglow asked animatedly. "I enjoyed it so much when Professor Lockhart launched one back in my fifth year that as soon as I got the DADA position, I asked Professor Dumbledore if I would be allowed to open one as well! So is that it?"

Professor Wilson hesitated for a second. "Most certainly," she answered, though it was obvious from her tone that it was false.

But of course oblivious Mizar Ursaglow would take it at face value.

"Great!" the DADA teacher exclaimed before hurrying back to Dumbledore's office.

Snape wasn't sure the Headmaster would appreciate the intrusion since he had certainly not requested the young wizard's presence. And the self-righteous witch next to him probably thought she had done a good deed by ridding him of the DADA teacher--which she had, but that wasn't the point.

Endora chuckled. "He's a naive little fellow, isn't he?" she said with a grin while watching Mizar run away. Then she looked up to Snape, but the Potions Master just ignored her. "And from what I heard about this Lockhart, the sessions of the duelling club must have been… quite dull…" she added.

Then she looked at Severus again. She was probably expecting an answer, Snape supposed, yet he remained silent once more. He had no time to waste on such a useless discussion and he only wished to return to his study. The young woman eventually gave up and shrugged before walking away. Well, at least this one understood faster than the DADA flobberworm, Snape thought with a hint of relief.

However, after only a few steps, Snape saw Wilson stop, turn back to him, open her mouth as if to speak, and hesitate, before speaking at last with a strange gleam in her eyes.

"There's something I've always wondered…" she began, and no more words were needed for Snape to know he would not like the next ones, for her ironic tone was flagrant. "Do you ever smile, or do you suffer from some kind of nervous disorder that prevents you from contracting your facial muscles?"

Snape glared at her for a long moment, antipathy shining brightly in his eyes, until she smiled slightly, obviously amused.

"That's what I thought…" she eventually said before leaving him alone at last.

Snape now had three certitudes. First, she had been a student of his. Second, he did dislike her. Greatly. Third, she would pay for that comment.

"Severus!" he heard behind him.

Oh no, he thought, not again. Couldn't a Potions Master have a few minutes of peace to brew a couple of potions? If possible lethal ones--Snape was sure Ursaglow would forget himself and call him by his first name again very soon. And the best he could do would be to rid the wizarding world of such a burden--and then use the extra potion on the new Charms teacher.

Before Snape could fantasise about being awarded the Order of Merlin, first class, for poisoning the worst wizard ever, Minerva McGonagall caught up with him.

"I saw you found time to socialise with our new teachers," she said. "That's very considerate of you, Severus, I am sure they will soon both feel at home thanks to your warm welcome."

"No need to be so ironic, Minerva. I am sure you enjoy the situation as much as Albus does."

"Neither Albus nor I enjoy any situation," McGonagall retorted stiffly. "You know you would have aroused Voldemort's suspicion were you given the DADA position."

"But was it really necessary to fill the vacant positions with unqualified teachers?" Snape argued.

"Endora Wilson was a very talented Ravenclaw student back in Hogwarts," the Transfiguration teacher protested. "And her postgraduate thesis about Charms concealment is absolutely brilliant, you should read it."

"Maybe when I have some time to waste," Severus replied sharply, and he knew Minerva would understand it meant 'never'. "Then what about Ursaglow?" he went on.

"He is very enthusiastic," McGonagall defended.

"I noticed as much," Snape snorted.

"And he certainly knows more about the Dark Arts than you think he does," Minerva went on.

Severus snorted again. He would almost agree with McGonagall, since Ursaglow could hardly know less about the Dark Arts than he thought he did.

"If you say so, Minerva," Severus said sarcastically. "Now if you will excuse me, my cauldron is waiting for me."

With those words Snape walked towards the dungeons yet again.