Summary:
When Lyria Strider returns to Hogwarts to teach DADA, an old enemy is the only
one who's not glad to see her. How will
the school cope with quarreling teachers?
A/N: It all
belongs to J.K.R. Lyria, however, was
invented by me, and I love her and guard her jealously. If you want to use her just ask, I promise
I’ll let you! You will find some
references to “Keeping Up Appearances” here, but you don’t have to read it first
to read this. Please enjoy!!
If there was
one thing Severus Snape hated about teaching (besides the students), it was
staff meetings.
This one,
however, had the potential to be a rare disaster. As usual, Dumbledore had gathered the staff
the morning before the students were due to arrive, mostly so they could review
the usual and meet the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. However, neither the headmaster nor the new
teacher had arrived yet.
He put on
his most unpleasant look and checked his watch again. Yes, they were now officially seventeen
minutes late.
As if on
cue, the door opened, and Albus Dumbledore entered, followed by a woman.
So, now they
were giving the job that should rightfully be his to a female. An idiot, a werewolf, and a Death Eater
weren’t insulting enough, now they’d give the job to a midget of a woman who
probably couldn’t even hold a wand properly.
Yes, he was bitter. He had the
right to be.
She sat down
in the Defense Against the Dark Arts chair, next to his, and he got a good look
at her face. There was something
familiar about her...
She seemed
attractive enough, in a natural way.
Brown hair hung down to her chin in fluffy, uncontrollable waves. Steely blue gray eyes were framed by silver
glasses, which rested on an inconspicuous nose.
There were a few slight scars here and there, but the face had hardly
changed at all...
“No.” He said flatly. “Professor, I refuse to believe you’ve hired
her...”
“I hate you
too,” she replied sharply.
“Charming as
ever, I see,” he snarled.
“Well, yes,
it *is* nice to see you again. And look,
I don’t think you’ve washed your hair since the last time we met. How nice.”
Lyria Strider flashed that infuriating smirk at him.
“How are you
coping with being by yourself? After
all, it must be lonely without bedding your murdering boyfriend all the time,”
Snape replied.
“What,
hoping to be my source of comfort? Don’t
hold your breath.”
“If we could
continue, please,” Dumbledore interrupted, looking slightly bemused.
They both
shut up.
Dumbledore
went over the usual rules, policies, and other foolishness before sending them
off. “Severus, perhaps you could help
Lyria settle in?”
He fought
the urge to simply strangle her and take care of the problem then and
there. “I’d be delighted,” he snapped,
stalking out.
“Could you
not drop my things all over the place?!?
Some of that breaks, you know!”
Lyria hollered.
“Then carry
it yourself,” he replied with a snarl.
“Someday,
your face is going to stick that way, and no one’s going to notice,” she
warned.
“And
someday, if there is a God, you will go away,” he replied. “Did he hire you specifically to aggravate
me, or is that just your gift to me in addition to your ever-infuriating
presence?”
“He hired me
to teach. I’m not sure what you do
here,” she said innocently. She always
did have a talent for pissing him off, might as well put it to use. “Now who do I have the delight of sitting
next to during meals?”
“Seating at
the head table is the same as it always was,” Snape replied. “I won’t talk to you if you don’t talk to
me.”
At that
moment, a giant black dog bounded into the room and nearly bowled him
over. “What the bloody hell is that
beast doing here?!?”
“Oh, this is
Padfoot, my pet,” Lyria replied. “He’s
very intelligent, for a dog.”
“Keep it
away from me,” he warned, leaving the room and slamming the door behind him.
“Very
intelligent for a dog?” A voice
asked. Padfoot had resumed human form.
Lyria smiled
at Sirius. “What did you want me to say,
that you were very intelligent for an Animagus?”
They laughed
a bit before Sirius resumed his dog form and they went down to the welcome
feast.
“I thought I
told you to keep that thing away from me,” Snape snapped as soon as she sat
down.
“He doesn’t
bite. Usually.”
Things
seemed to be going from bad to worse lately.
“I don’t want it near me.”
“Then move.”
He settled
for giving the dog a menacing look and turning his attention to the sorting
ceremony.
Strider also
turned her attention to the ceremony, clapping politely for all the students as
they were sorted.
“Never thought
I’d see the day you’d applaud for a Slytherin,” he commented.
“Never
thought I’d see the day you taught. But
then again, Potions, I shouldn’t be surprised.
And favoring all of your own, I imagine...” Lyria trailed off.
“Because,
naturally, you wouldn’t dream of favoring Gryffindors,” he replied
sarcastically.
“Haven’t we
all got a pet house?” she replied. “Some
of us are just more obvious than others about it.”
He thought
for a moment that she had a point there, but of course said nothing out
loud. “You’re not as stupid as I usually
give you credit for.”
“You’re not
as smart as you give yourself credit for, either.” She replied with a smile.
‘Yes,
Severus, she just insulted you when you were being civil with her. Take note of that, and never, ever do it
again,’ he thought, mentally kicking himself.
“Must be a flaw you’re familiar with, Strider.” He glanced at her hand as she picked up her
fork. “Still wearing that ring of his,
are you? Why not just give up?”
“Because
despite his faults, I love Sirius, which is of course something you’re totally
unfamiliar with.” Lyria responded
flatly.
“I don’t
think mass murder qualifies as a minor character flaw.” He picked up his own fork.
“Must be
something you’re familiar with, Snape,” she replied with a mocking sneer.
It was not
going to be an enjoyable term.