Lauren had put it off long enough, and now she stood before the fireplace in her kitchen, trying to work up the courage for the dreaded task at hand.

School supply shopping in Diagon Alley.

She shuddered at the thought. She really didn't fancy being among harried and panicky parents, who would surely be surrounded by their equally annoying kids as they scrambled to buy the essentials needed for the school year.

I really wish they would invent online shopping in the wizarding world...It would make everything so much easier...

Lauren glanced over at Artemis, who was perched on the edge of the kitchen table and was busy gulping down raw chunks of meat with enthusiastic gusto.

"Wish me luck," she muttered.

Artemis paused, eyeing her with beady black eyes that reflected his true inner thoughts: You're being an idiot. He couldn't even be bothered to caw out a sound that could have been misconstrued as encouragement, and instead returned his attention back to his food, blatantly ignoring her.

I think some of Severus' traits have rubbed off on you, she thought irritably.

Lauren smoothed down her shirt and, after a quick glance at the ominously overcast skies outside, went to grab a pastel sky-blue hued pullover that was luxuriously soft and comfy. Lauren donned the clothing item, the baggy sleeves giving her easy access to her wand which was sheathed to her forearm.

Returning once more to the fireplace, Lauren sucked in a deep and, after steeling herself, flung a fistful of Floo powder into the flames.

She stepped into the now innocently burning green flames and stated in a loud, clear voice, "Diagon Alley!"

She was instantly transported in a stomach churning whirlwind that made her feel like a spinning top, and was immensely grateful when she finally arrived at her destination. Her relief, though, was immediately replaced by abject vexation when she stepped out of the fireplace and was engulfed by a swarm of bodies pressing against her from all sides as shoppers frantically made their way to and from Diagon Alley.

Lauren scowled, her mood now distinctly foul. She hated crowds and avoided them when she could.

Bloody fantastic, a bitter sounding voice echoed in her head. Just great!

Lauren tried to make her way through the crowd, but very few paid much attention to the petite twelve-year-old. Finally losing her patience and temper, Lauren started shoving and pushing her way through the throng, eventually breaking through and stepping into a less crowded clearing.

Screw this! Never again! Next year I am so not leaving this to the last minute like everyone else! I don't care if I have to threaten Dumbledore within an inch of his life – he will give me the list early so I don't have to go through this again.

Speaking of which, Lauren withdrew her crumpled list from tight confines of her jean pocket and scanned through the items she would need. She paused when she saw the lists of books she was going to have to purchase, and a groan escaped her lips.

All the books, save one, were by Gilderoy Lockhart, and she was required to buy each and every one of them.

Great. Just fucking great. I'm going to waste a pile of money on useless books written by an equally useless idiot.

Lauren's foul mood was somewhat placated by the thought of the duelling lesson that would transpire between Lockhart and Snape. Severus had certainly, or at least he would, hand Lockhart's ass to him without much effort on his part.

At least I have that to look forward to...And, on the bright side, I only have to put up with that dunderhead for a year.

Her thoughts took a darker turn, and Lauren paled at the thought of what else was to transpire this school year.

The Basilisk...I can't forget that there's going to be a freaking giant snake slithering through the pipes in Hogwarts, trying to murder less than pure-blood students...And that probably includes me!

Lauren rubbed at her forehead, already feeling stressed out.

Why me? Of all the fantasy novels I could have been sucked into, it had to be the one where a tyrannical and powerful wizard is hell-bent on causing an all-out war...and a freakin' Basilisk is set loose! And this is only the beginning...

Lauren crumpled up her list and shoved it back in her pocket.

I still have time. This is only going to happen in a few months...Right now I need to get through this blasted shopping trip.

A few hours later (and much verbal insults flung at annoying shoppers) Lauren was just about ready to call it quits. And she still had yet to deal with the most difficult task of all - Flourish and Blotts. The book store was sure to be densely crowded, and she had decided to leave that for last.

As she made her way there, dread weighing heavy on her shoulders almost as though she were making her way to the gallows, Lauren paused as she passed a storefront, the display window showcasing items of luxurious splendour. There were hair combs with sparkling rubies encrusted along the handles, satin gloves, gold-encased music boxes, and rings and necklaces embedded with sparkling jewels that were worth a small fortune - items Lauren had no desire purchasing.

No, her attention had been caught by a particular gilded framed hand mirror; simple at first glance, yet at the same time intricately fashioned into a thing of beauty.

That mirror will come in handy, especially if I have a run-in with the big, bad Basilisk...

Lauren didn't want to dwell on the fact that is she did, indeed, have a run-in with the Basilisk, she would either be dead or Petrified.

Best to be prepared.

A little while later Lauren was the proud new owner of the simple and very much unmagical mirror that did absolutely nothing by reveal one's reflection. For the price she had paid for it, Lauren had half expected it to do something more, like maybe sing James Blunt's song You're Beautiful every time she looked into it.

Sadly, no. The sales assistant, though, had assured her that the mirror was unbreakable, so at least she didn't have to worry about seven years bad luck on top of everything else.

Now she could no longer put it off. It was time to head to the dreaded bookstore and hopefully not run into their new and inept Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

Oh joy.

Lauren steeled herself and made her way to Flourish and Blotts, coming to a complete standstill when she saw the lineup that wound all the way outside the doors of the store, the shoppers eagerly waiting to meet the flamboyantly egotistical Gilderoy Lockhart and have their books signed.

Lauren edged past them and went inside to peruse some of the books and, more importantly, find one pertaining to magical bonds.

An hour later her already foul temper was ready to explode. She had tried to flag down a sales assistant, but the poor bloke was being harried on all sides by pesky shoppers, and had assured her that he would return once he had dealt with another customer. That had been almost an hour ago and Lauren suspected that he had forgotten all about her in all the chaos. Lauren had tried to search for the book herself, but between not really knowing which genre it would be under and the crowded store packed like a tin of sardines, Lauren was having very little luck.

She instead snatched up the one other book that she would need for her school term, The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk. The other seven were all Lockhart's books, and were inadvertently downstairs among the crowd – a crowd that she would have to make (push) her way through.

I don't care how much Tracey protests, I am so burning the crap out of these books at the end of the year!

"Hello, Ward," came a familiar drawl from behind her.

Lauren whirled around to see none other than the platinum-haired Draco Malfoy watching her with languid ease as he leaned back against the railing. His ice blue eyes narrowed slightly as he took in the furious expression clouding her features, but then after a few seconds a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"It's good to see you're still your usual self."

Despite her foul mood, Lauren smiled back at him, the tension ebbing from her as she saw an opportunity of friendly banter. "Hello, Draco. Good to see you as well. Torment anyone lately?" she asked conversationally as she came to stand beside him.

Draco smirked, crossing his arms in front of him. "I may have made a few seven-year-olds cry."

"Sounds about right," Lauren muttered as she leaned her back against the railing, her single book clutched in her hand. All her other purchases had been miniaturized and were safely ensconced in her pocket.

A smile tugged at his lips and Lauren took a moment to study him. His hair was slicked back, bringing out his already developing aristocratic features, and he was dressed from head to toe in black with a cloak bearing the green and silver Slytherin emblem draped over his shoulders.

Lauren glanced down at her obviously Muggle attire of jeans, shirt and pullover, and felt distinctly ratty standing next to him.

"Lauren!"

Both Lauren and Draco turned to see Tracey scampering up the stairs. Her face was flushed and her eyes were glistening with frenzied excitement, giving her a distinctly wild and scary countenance.

"Isn't it great!" she enthused as she reached Lauren, clutching her by the upper arms and practically shaking her back and forth in her zealous enthusiasm. "Gilderoy Lockhart is here! The Gilderoy Lockhart is here!"

Lauren cringed at the high pitched tone her friend's voice had taken.

Before she could reply, though, Tracey barrelled on. "I can't wait to meet him! He's so dreamy. Let's go and stand in line and get our books autographed by him!"

Finally having enough, Lauren shrugged out of Tracey's grasp, a deep scowl of annoyance shadowing her features. "The only Gilderoy Lockhart line I want to stand in is the one where I get to punch him in the face."

Tracey's mouth fell open in both horror and shock at her words, and a barely concealed snigger to the side foretold that Draco had found the comment highly amusing.

"I take it you're not a fan of his?" Draco asked, a wide grin plastered on his face and his eyes dancing with mirth.

"No."

Tracey looked absolutely scandalized. "Why ever not?"

Lauren drew in a deep breath and answered in rapid-fire succession. "One: he's egotistical. Two: he's narcissistic. Three: he's self-conceited, vain, pompous, megalomaniacal, and a fraud. In short, he's a prat!"

Two pair of equally stunned expressions stared back at her.

Finally, it was Draco who spoke up, hilarity evident in his tone. "That's a lot of big words, Ward."

Tracey, on the other hand, looked absolutely hurt by the fact that Lauren had just insulted her crush. "That was really mean, Lauren."

Lauren ran her fingers through her hair, really in no mood to tippy-toe around other peoples feelings right now. "Well, it's the truth. Sometimes the truth hurts, Tracey."

Tracey pursed her lips together and, without a word, she spun around and flounced down the stairs, her angry stomps echoing back to them.

"Tracey!" Lauren instantly felt remorseful and called after her, but the other girl refused to acknowledge her and continued on down the stairs. Lauren made to go after her but Draco grabbed her by the wrist, effectively halting her pursuit.

"Leave her. She'll get over it."

Lauren rounded on Draco. "That's not the point, Draco. I was mean to my friend – something I shouldn't have been. I should have been supportive and least pretended to be happy for her, even though I dislike the tosser."

A puzzled expression tinted Draco's features as he stared at her, mulling over her words. Lauren suspected that he was often abrupt with his 'friends', choosing to them around rather than actually giving any consideration as to how his words and actions would affect and hurt them.

He released his grip on her, his hand dropping back to his side. "So...you're planning to apologize?"

Lauren sighed. "Yeah. It's what a good friend would do."

That perplexed expression deepened.

"Who do we have here, Draco?" came a silky smooth, aristocratically clipped voice from behind them.

Draco instantly straightened up and Lauren whirled around to come face-to-face with none other than Lucius Malfoy in all his splendid, haughty, arrogant glory.

Her mind instantly went blank as she stared at his unbelievably handsome and sinfully beautiful features, even though at this moment he radiated stuck-up snobbishness as he regarded her with reserved haughtiness. Like his son, he was dressed all in black and there, clutched in his hand, was his infamous cane.

"This is, uh," Draco gave a hesitant pause, glancing uncertainly over at Lauren. Coming to a decision, he continued on, "My friend from school, Father." Draco stepped forward, coming to stand beside Lauren. "Lauren Ward."

Lauren's head whipped around and she stared disbelievingly at Draco.

I would have gone with 'frenemies'...but I guess we can't really tell his father that.

At the mention of her name, the condescending, snooty attitude immediately dissipated from Lucius' features.

"The Lauren Ward?" he inquired, taking a step towards her as he studied her with undisguised intrigue.

Lauren's gazed flickered to the cane clutched in his hand, and her mind screamed pimp stick! It was with great effort that she managed to school her features and meet the penetrating ice-blue gaze of Malfoy Senior.

"I have heard a great deal about you," he intoned in that silky smooth baritone of his. "The mysterious descendant of Miss Bethany Anne Ward. Draco's godfather, and our good family friend, Severus Snape, has let slip that you possess the same talent as your ancestor."

"So I've been told," Lauren replied, her mind still struggling to function.

God damn! He is one fine specimen of a man...Pity he's rotten to the core, though.

Lucius regarded her for a few moments, and Lauren didn't miss the way his gaze scrutinized her obviously Muggle attire.

"It is quite a mystery about your parentage, though, from what I've heard. There's no mention in your records regarding your parents."

Lauren's eyes widened at this news, her mind snapping back into focus. "What were you doing looking into my records?" she asked sharply.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "When a direct descendant of one of the wizarding world's greatest Potioneer suddenly shows up, it stirs up a great deal of interest within the Ministry. And," he paused, his eyes glinting with a mixture of cunning and amusement, "when that said descendant makes a rather dubious reference to my cane, well, let's just say that my intrigue was piqued."

Lauren was sure her jaw had hit the floor as she gaped at him.

Ah shit! I'm so dead. The little ferret told his father about the whole 'pimp stick' episode.

Coming to her senses, she shot Draco a look. The boy in question had the grace to look uncomfortable and refused to meet her gaze as he stared down at a suddenly interesting spot on the wooden floor.

Lauren glanced hesitatingly back up at Lucius, sure she was going to have one hell of a fight on her hands. Instead, she was surprised to see a hint of amusement overshadowing his features as he studied her initial reaction.

Tilting his head to the side, he stated politely, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Ward."

He didn't give Lauren time to recover from her shock and stalked off down the stairs, his posture and clothing screaming high breeding, and his long silver-white hair trailing down his back like a silken waterfall.

Once he was out of sight, Lauren rounded on Draco. "You told him?!" she hissed.

"To be fair, we weren't friends at the time, Ward," Draco countered. "And he was just as confused by it as I was at first."

"Well, he obviously knows what it means now," Lauren spat. "So why is he being almost cordial towards me and not hexing me into next week?"

Draco glanced away. "I may have mentioned that we have now become...friends."

Lauren was stunned into silence. She had thought that Draco was just being polite and had introduced her as such to his father. But as she stared at him, she realized that this thing that was developing between them was, in a way, a friendship of sorts. And, at the same time, not.

At her scrutinizing gaze, a deep flush crept up along Draco's pale neck. "What?" he snapped, looking clearly uncomfortable.

"Nothing," Lauren replied immediately, snapping her mouth shut.

This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder...

"How about we go and find Tracey and offer our support?" she offered after a few moments of uncomfortable silence had passed between them.

Draco looked almost relieved that Lauren had chosen to deflect, but as he thought about her suggestion, he pulled a face. "Lockhart? Really, Ward?"

Lauren sighed. "I don't like it any more than you, but it's important to her."

Draco thrust his hands into his pocket, and Lauren thought he was going to flat-out refuse. But then a resigned sigh passed through his lips. "You owe me big time for this."

Lauren rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the elbow, effectively steering him towards the staircase. "If I have to suffer through this, then I think it's only fair that you should as well."

"What? That doesn't sound at all fair!" he protested.

"In case it may have escaped your notice, life isn't fair, Draco."

Draco grumbled under his breath as they made their way to the staircase, and instantly froze in place when they reached the top landing. Lauren frowned at the sudden stiff animosity now radiating from him, and followed his narrow, slitted gaze to see none other than Harry Potter being wrestled into a photo op with Lockhart; the flouncy-haired idiot beaming widely for the cameras while Harry stood awkwardly next to him, looking distinctly uncomfortable by all the attention.

"Look at him," Draco sneered with venomous hatred tinting his voice. "Always getting all the attention wherever he goes."

Lauren cast a speculative glance at boy beside her, wondering if this animosity was simply derived from plain jealousy. She immediately discarded that thought. If it had to do with something as simple envy, Draco would still hate her since she herself had acquired mild celebrity status within the school.

No, this hatred between the boys seemed to run deeper, and veer more on the side of being complicated. Draco saw Harry as someone who was always outshining him – always the favourite. And it did not settle well with the boy.

"You know he can't really help it," Lauren pointed out diplomatically.

Draco whipped his attention in her direction, anger glistening like cool ice within his arctic eyes. "I thought you were supposed to be supportive of your friends, Ward."

"Yes," Lauren answered. "But I'll also tell them when they're being complete and utter arses." Lauren breathed in deeply through her nose before continuing. "Believe me, Draco, having all the unwanted attention is not all it's cracked up to be. It would be different if he was intentionally seeking out being the centre of attention...but he's not."

Draco turned his attention abruptly back to Potter, and Lauren could tell that her words hadn't penetrated his skull, nor was he going to heed her advice.

"I really hate him," Draco stated, his hissed words barely controlled as he shrugged out of her grasp and made to descend the stairs.

"You know, you don't have to get all the attention to be important, Draco," she murmured.

Draco paused, glancing over his shoulder with a confused frown furrowing his brows. Then he shook his head and descended the stairs, his anger roiling off of him in ominous waves.

Lauren pressed her lips together, knowing there wasn't much she could do to stop him, and made her way back to the railing. She watched from her discreet lofty height as Draco proceeded to taunt Harry and not long after, Lucius Malfoy and Arthur Weasley got into a spectacular fight, rolling around in a scrambled heap on the floor. Before, Lauren would have found the sight highly amusing, but not now.

Hagrid bulldozed through the now congregated crowd and pulled the two men apart with very little effort on his part.

It would have been hard to miss if she hadn't been looking for it, but Lauren witnessed Draco's father slyly slipping Tom Riddle's diary into Ginny's cauldron along with her other school book before he and Draco departed in a huff, followed shortly thereafter by the Weasleys, Grangers, and Harry.

I can't do anything even if I wanted to, she reminded herself. Dumbledore was warned me not to meddle with events. But still, all this could be prevented if I stole that diary...

Lauren instantly dismissed the seductive thought. Certain events needed to happen and she couldn't interfere with this one.

All she could do was prepare herself.

Amidst the crowd, Lauren spied the sleek bob that belonged to Tracey, and made her way down the stairs, determined to make amends with her friend – even if it meant putting up with the pompous Lockhart for a few torturous moments.

This is going to be the longest and hardest moment of my life, she thought. I'm really going to have to resist hexing him or punching him in the face...Not sure if I can manage that.

Lauren inwardly heaved an exasperated sigh. The things I do for friends.

Lauren stood in front of her fireplace, her school trunk packed and ready, and stationed nearby. Snape had sent an owl yesterday stating that he would collect her a few hours before the Hogwarts Express was due to arrive at the school, bringing with it the students that would fill the halls of the school for the school year.

Lauren had felt great excitement at the news, for she hadn't seen the Potion Master in almost a week, and was reluctant to admit that she had missed him.

Glancing down at her wristwatch, she noted that she still had a full two minutes to go before Snape was due to arrive. Knowing the Potion Master, he would be punctual as ever and arrive at precisely the correct time – no sooner, no later.

Her gaze landed on Artemis, who was currently prisoner in his cage that was resting upon her trunk. The bird shot her a cold, hard look before deliberately turning his back on her. It had been an interesting and exhaustive hour trying to coerce the stubborn raven into the cage, and Lauren had to eventually resort to bribery of mice. Artemis' greed had eventually won out and he had grudgingly hopped into the cage. Now, though, he was being very obvious about his displeasure at being cooped up in the cage.

"It will only be for a few minutes," Lauren assured, clasping her hands behind her back. "Once we get to the school you'll be free."

Truth was, she had no idea whether a raven would be an accepted pet at the school, but she wasn't going to leave him alone here. Blinky had returned to the school a few hours prior, and there would be no one here to take care of the raven.

Artemis ruffled his feathers agitatedly, but ignored her otherwise.

Just then the fireplace flared green and out stepped the dark form of Severus Snape, dressed in his usual black attire. Lauren's heart stuttered to a painful halt at the sight of him and then resumed, beating a bit faster this time and almost taking her breath away. Lauren briefly pondered these peculiar reactions she was experiencing around Snape lately. They were odd to say the least, and she had no explanation for it.

Snape cast the cleansing spell upon himself and stepped further into the room, slipping his wand back into the sleeve of his many-buttoned cloak. His dark, penetrating gaze landed on Lauren and narrowed when he noted the way she was working on keeping her expression neutral.

He chose to ignore her slightly odd behaviour, and his gaze landed on Artemis, who had now turned around and was making affectionate croaking sounds in the back of his throat at the sight of his favourite person.

"I don't think...ravens are on the list of pets allowed within the school, Miss Ward," he stated, his words enunciated perfectly and spoken in that velvety deep voice that sent illicit shivers down her spine.

I've really got to get a better handle on how Snape affects me...Though why I'm being affected in such a way, I have no idea. It's not as though I'm attracted to him...He's an irritating, sarcastic and sometimes cruel arse...

"Well, I can't very well leave him here on his own. There's no one here to take care of him," Lauren stated firmly as she stepped closer towards the cage. Artemis eyed her with disdain and pointedly turned his his back on her.

Snape silently glided towards them, and Lauren felt almost lightheaded as the familiar scent of herbs and parchment overwhelmed her.

Get it together, Ward!

Snape studied the raven in question, a slight frown furrowing his brows as he formulated a plan. Then he turned sharply to face her. "There is nothing in the school rules about which pets the teachers are allowed..."

"You mean..."

"I'll take the bloody bird."

Artemis, almost as though he had understood every word, instantly perked up and gave a delighted squawk in response.

Lauren was slightly taken aback at the fact that Snape was willing to help her out like this. She eyed the excited raven, failing to see any flaws in Snape's plan. Artemis could still visit her when the mood struck him, and she knew deep down that Snape would take good care of him, regardless of how much he grumbled about the bird. Deep down she knew it was all for show and that he had grown fond of Artemis.

"Nice to see where your loyalties lie," she stated sarcastically at the bird, though her words held very little heat. She returned Snape's gaze and gave a nod of assent. "Sounds good. I do wonder how Dumbledore is going to react to having a raven within his school grounds."

"Considering some of the questionable creatures Hagrid has procured over the years, I think a raven will be the least of his worries."

Lauren grinned wryly at Snape, her heart doing a somersault when he returned her smile with one of his own, albeit a small guarded one.

"Let's get you to school," Snape stated, plucking Artemis' cage from the trunk and handing him over to Lauren. He then withdrew his wand and miniaturized Lauren's trunk before scooping it up and pocketing it.

"The Headmaster has allowed us access to his fireplace, so we will be travelling straight to the school," he explained as he resheathed his wand.

"Is that where you've been these last few days? At school?" she asked, trying hard not to sound sullen by the fact that she had not seen him for almost a week.

"Preparations needed to be made for the beginning of the school year, Miss Ward. Preparations, I might add, that were very time consuming," he replied curtly, his mood turning cantankerous at the prospect of having to soon deal with the 'dunderheads' that were the bane of his existence. Or so he claimed. "Now, are you ready to depart?"

Lauren gave a nod, clutching Artemis' cage tight against her chest. Snape grabbed a fistful of Floo powder from the jar resting upon the mantle and flung it into the flames, making them flare a brilliant green. He then curled his hand around her upper arm, his touch somewhat gentle as he guided her into the fireplace. Lauren slammed her Occulmency shields in place at the close contact, and she sensed that Severus had done the same, for their magical reaction to each other was more controlled and subdued than normal.

They arrived at the Headmaster's office and Snape instantly released his hold on her as he stepped out, Lauren following shortly after. She remained utterly still as he cast a cleansing spell over all three of them, Artemis included.

He then silently took the cage and raven from Lauren and handed back her miniaturized trunk in exchange.

"I'll take Artemis to my office. The Hogwarts Express is due to arrive in three hours. I trust you can occupy yourself for that length of time?" he asked, a hint of snideness creeping into his voice as he held the door open for her.

Lauren pocketed her trunk and strode past him, annoyed by his sudden churlish attitude, and didn't bother replying as she descended the winding stairs. She paused by the stone gargoyle and Snape came to stand beside her.

"Dinner is at seven. Don't be late." With that parting comment, he swept past her and strode down the dimly lit hallway, his black robe snapping billowing behind him.

Well...that was rude. Though, this is Snape we're talking about. He's always rude. I wonder if he's always this abrupt at the beginning of the year?

Then a thought occurred to her and she raced to catch up to him.

"What is the password to the dormitory?" she huffed, her shorter legs struggling to keep up with Snape's longer strides.

"Asphodel," he replied without even glancing down at her.

Lauren frowned. "Isn't that a flower?"

"Yes."

Snape was refusing to slow his pace and Lauren struggled to keep in stride with him, having to practically jog to keep up.

"What does it mean?" she asked.

"Does it have to mean it anything?"

"Of course it does," Lauren retorted. "There's always a double meaning when it comes to you."

Snape shot her a narrow-eyed glare. "I don't have time for all your incessant questions." And with that he quickened his pace and was soon out of sight as he rounded a corner.

Lauren came to a standstill, her chest heaving at the physical exertion of having to jog. She still had three hours to kill before the rest of her classmates showed up.

What to do? Maybe a quick jaunt to the library to find out the meaning of that flower will help pass the time.

Luckily Madam Pince was nowhere to be seen and Lauren sneaked into the Herbology section. Soon she was flipping through a few books that had looked promising and stilled when she happened upon the flower she was searching for. All the air left her lungs and she slumped back in her chair as the words practically screamed their meaning.

Asphodel. My regrets follow you to the grave...

That was a poignant meaning if ever she heard one. There was one major regret that Snape harboured, and to whom its grave it followed: Lily.

A monstrous, churlish emotion erupted within her chest like a volcano, and Lauren snapped the book shut sharply. She sat there, stunned by her reaction. If she didn't know any better, she would almost say it was jealousy.

That's ridiculous. I'm not jealous. I have absolutely no reason to be jealous. No. None whatsoever.

Shaking her head, she rose from the table and, after placing the books back into their proper places, she made her way down to the Slytherin Common Room.

A sly voice sounded in the back of her head. If I have no reason to be jealous, then why do I feel like this way?

Lauren decided not to dwell on it and ignore it completely. Looking too deeply into things would result in finding answers she was not yet ready to face. Answers she didn't want to face.

Lauren donned her school uniform and promptly made her way down to the Great Hall, slipping unnoticed into the crowd of students as they filed in, chatting and laughing excitedly among themselves.

She spied Tracey and elbowed her way towards her friend, ignoring the few scowls and annoyed mutterings that followed in her wake.

Tracey startled when Lauren looped her arm through hers. "Lauren! I didn't see you on the train, and I thought..." Tracey trailed off and her eyes widened in understanding. "Oh." She leaned in and whispered, "Did Dumbledore bring you to school himself?"

"Actually, it was Snape who had the honour," Lauren replied in an aside whisper. They had now entered the Great Hall and were making their way to the Slytherin table.

"Really?" Tracey sounded shocked by this revelation. "That's...unusual."

Lauren shrugged. "I guess Dumbledore was too busy. But I prefer Snape's company to his, so I didn't mind in the least."

Tracey eyed Lauren disbelievingly, but before she could grill Lauren further, she halted in her tracks and clutched Lauren's arm. "Look!" she exclaimed shrilly, an unnerving light glinting feverishly within her blue eyes.

Lauren glanced around, wondering what had suddenly possessed her friend. Tracey usually didn't act fanatical and was level-headed most of the time. "And what exactly am I supposed to be looking at?"

Tracey leaned in and hissed, "Look at the staff table. It's Lockhart!" Tracey was barely able to contain herself from jumping up and down in her excitement. "I wonder what he's doing here?"

Lauren's gaze travelled towards the staff table and, sure enough, there was Lockhart locked in an animated conversation with Professor Sprout. Well, he was doing all the talking, otherwise known as far-fetched boasting, and every few seconds he would flash a brilliantly bright smile and smooth his perfectly golden locks. Sprout, for her part, looked as though she wanted nothing more than to escape, though she was polite enough to nod and give him a tight smile every now and then.

I do not pity her.

Her gaze was drawn to the seat where Snape usually sat for meals, noting that it was suspiciously vacant.

Now where did he go to?

It took her a few seconds to realize that, at this very moment, he was looking for Harry and Ron, who had by now missed the train and crashed the car into the Whomping Willow.

"Any ideas?"

Lauren blinked out of her thoughts and stared at Tracey blankly. "Hmm. What?"

Tracey huffed. "Do you have any idea why Lockhart's here? Please tell me he's here to stay."

"No idea, but I have a feeling we're going to find out soon enough," Lauren grumbled as she practically dragged her friend to their seats.

A few moments later Draco plonked down next to Lauren, almost as though this was a normal occurrence for him to sit next to her.

"Ward. Davis," he greeted.

Tracey was too busy drooling over Lockhart to take much notice of Draco, let alone anyone else in the room.

"Hello, Draco," Lauren greeted back.

Draco leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. "I've heard that the buffoon is going to be our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Tracey's head whipped around at this news, her mouth forming a little 'o' of surprise.

"Yeah, I heard," Lauren muttered sourly. "Think we can maybe slip some blue and hopefully permanent hair dye into his shampoo?"

Draco sniggered and Tracey shot Lauren a disapproving look that would have made Hermione Granger proud.

"Don't you even think about it!" she exclaimed.

"Oh come on, Tracey. He's an idiot," Lauren shot back. "I don't know what the hell Dumbledore was thinking by hiring him."

"He's not an idiot!" Tracey looked crazy scary at this very moment, her chest heaving and her eyes glinting dangerously.

Lauren and Draco shared a look; a look that clearly stated: Uh oh. Best to tread carefully.

Lauren turned her attention back to Tracey and said in a placating tone, "Okay. I'm sorry. He's not an idiot."

Tracey harrumphed, but she calmed somewhat and turned her attention back to ogle the new DADA teacher.

Lauren turned to Draco and whispered conspiratorially to him, low enough that Tracey couldn't overhear, "He's totally an idiot."

Draco grinned widely, but before he could add a comment of his own, Dumbledore rose from his chair. The Great Hall immediately silenced and soon a speech was made, welcoming back all students. Soon the newest batch of first-years were sorted, each house welcoming ten new students each. Then came the announcement that Lockhart was to be their newest DADA Professor. This news was met with a chorus of excited and high-pitch squeals from very many female students, each wearing a love-stuck look upon their faces, and Tracey sickeningly being one of them.

Dumbledore clapped his hands together once and each House table magically became weighed down with overflowing dishes of mouthwatering food. Afterwards, with bellies achingly full, the students made their way back to their dormitories to get ready for bed.

But as Lauren lay in bed, the meaning of the password ran through her head over and over again like and endless loop, causing a tight knot to form in her chest.

She glanced at her bedside clock and noted that it was a little after midnight. The soft snores of her fellow dorm mates echoed through the room; usually a comforting background noise that she had grown accustomed to, but right now it only served to make her agitated.

Knowing that sleep would elude her, Lauren flung back the covers and climbed out of bed, slipping on her slippers and shrugging her bathrobe on over her pajamas.

She quietly padded to the Common Room, relieved to find it empty, and made her way to the secret portrait. Muttering the password, the painting swung open and Lauren stepped in, casting the Lumos spell to illuminate her way.

Lauren hesitated when she reached the other end, part of her doubtful that it was a good idea to visit Snape right now. He had been in a rather short mood all day, and after dealing with Harry and Ron it was sure to be a whole lot worse. But the unreasonable part of her yearned to see him.

Lauren stepped out through the portrait and was greeted by a very surly looking Severus Snape, who was seated at his desk and was scowling darkly into his glass of Firewhiskey. Artemis, she noted, was perched upon the top of the book case, his beak tucked securely beneath his wing while he slept.

Without waiting for permission, she seated herself upon the chair opposite Snape's desk. "School hasn't even begun and you're already drinking," she mused. "I would have thought that it would have taken at least a week before you resorted to using alcohol to deal with the stress."

Snape raised his dark gaze and Lauren's breath caught in her throat, that achingly fluttery feeling constricting her insides.

"Potter and Weasley...I swear they were planted on this earth to cause me the most amount of aggravation as possible." Snape paused, taking a sip from his glass before exclaiming, "They flew a car here and crashed it into the Whomping Willow!"

Lauren grinned at the memory of that scene. "Yeah, that was hilarious. Quite a funny story behind that actually."

Snape shot her a dark scowl that stated that he clearly did not find it funny at all.

"Or not," Lauren amended, clearing her throat.

Snape breathed out an exasperated sigh and then levelled her with a stern look. "A bit of warning would have been nice."

"I'm not allowed to reveal future events. Remember?"

Snape grumbled something inarticulate and downed the amber liquid in his glass in one gulp. He then placed his glass down on the desk with a hard thunk. "Now you choose to abide by the rules," he muttered sarcastically.

Lauren simply smiled at him, then an appealing idea slithered into her consciousness, planting itself and taking root there. "Speaking of future events..."

Snape eyed her with guarded suspicion gleaming in those fathomless dark eyes, his posture taut with alertness.

Lauren leaned forward. "What do you think of Lockhart?"

Snape's features twisted in a grimace, almost as though he had swallowed something vile. "Do. Not. Speak. Of. That. Idiot!" he warned, his words carefully and slowly enunciated so that she could not mistake his meaning.

"Oh good," she exclaimed, instantly perking up. "I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks he's a moron."

Snape blinked back at her, momentary surprise flashing across his features.

Lauren leaned back in her chair, a frown furrowing her brows at his reaction. "Wait...Did you think I was infatuated with him like everyone else?"

"It wouldn't have surprised me." This was said in an almost derisive tone, an undercurrent of another emotion tinting his words.

Lauren scoffed. "Oh please. At least give me some credit."

"I am trying but your track record makes it hard to do otherwise," he drawled back dryly.

Lauren folded her arms over her chest, a glare of her own pinching her features. Snape simply arched a supercilious brow and Lauren decided it was easier to ignore his jibes than give him the satisfaction of reacting to him. "Anyway, I want to offer you a proposition."

Snape was instantly on alert and he eyed her silently, waiting for her to continue.

Lauren leaned forward and clasped her hands in front of her as she rested her elbows on her knees. "There's going to come a time when Lockhart is going to want to form a Duelling Club with you. I want you to agree."

"What?!" Snape snarled, the vein in his temple throbbing as he scowled back at her, his hands tightly clutching the armrest of his chair and his knuckles almost turning white.

"No. Hear me out. That dunce is not a dueller – you and I know this. I want you to set it up so that he and I will demonstrate some duelling methods together."

"And that will accomplish what exactly."

"Oh nothing much. I just want to try out a particular spell I discovered on him. It sounds quite promising. Plus, it will offer the perfect opportunity to humiliate him."

Snape eyed her with a hint of sly approval glinting in his eyes. "May I inquire as to what spell that is?"

"Nope," Lauren replied, popping the 'p'. "It's a surprise."

Snape regarded her, his posture still and statue-like. Then a smile slowly crept upon his face and he stated, his words slithering through the still night air. "I think something can be arranged..."

"I thought you would be agreeable."

Snape's brows furrowed slightly as he stared at his now empty glass, his mind formulating a plan of action. The moments ticked by and as Lauren studied at him, her thoughts drifted back to that blasted password. But she found she did not have the courage to bring it up. Before her sat a man heavily scarred by the past, and she really didn't want to dredge up all those painful memories to the surface and ruin their current mood.

Severus' gaze suddenly snapped up to hers and Lauren instantly slammed her Occlumency shields in place, hoping he hadn't caught a hint of what she had just been thinking.

"You're getting better at Occluding" he commented after a contemplative pause.

"I have an excellent teacher."

"Nevertheless, it still needs some work," he remarked.

"So does that mean we'll continue practising throughout the year?" She couldn't mask the excitement that had crept into her voice.

"Of course."

"Just...don't use detention as a ruse for the upcoming year. I'm getting a reputation because of you."

"You had a reputation long before that, Miss Ward. You needed no help from me for that."

Lauren couldn't argue with him on that point because he was absolutely, one hundred percent correct.

"It's getting late," Snape suddenly stated. "You should head back to bed and get some sleep. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow."

Lauren rose and stretched, relaxing as she commented. "Correction. It's going to be one hell of a busy year."

His eyes narrowed slightly at the unveiled hint, and he gave a slight nod of his head in understanding. He did not press her for further answers, though she did detect the temptation to do so lingering upon his features.

"Good night, Professor Snape," she murmured before climbing through the portrait hole. As she was closing the portrait shut behind her, she thought she heard his softly spoken words of good night in return, and it brought a soft smile to her face and caused a warm, fluttery feeling to envelope her; a reaction she had no explanation for.