• 1-Chapter One: The Incredible Miss Harriet Noxcycneus
• 2-Chapter Two: The Incredible Professor of Potions
• 3-Chapter 03: The Apprentice’s Dream
• 4-Chapter Four: Fresh Flesh
• 5-Chapter Five: The Subtle Science and Exact Art of Potion-Making
• 6-Chapter Six: Of Yeti Dice and Engorgement Potions

The Welcoming Feast couldn’t have come fast enough for Harriet. Without a doubt it was going to be the best part of the evening and that was only because she was going to see her best friend after spending the summer holidays seperated from him.

Draco Malfoy.

Draco’s sixth year hadn’t gone well and if it hadn’t been for the horrible events, Harriet would have never even talked to him.
During May, Lucius had called him back to the Malfoy estate for “family matters.” When Draco had arrived, he discovered that his father had started a ritual to revive You-Know-Who from beyond the Veil. Unfortuantly, the Malfoy family was part of the list of ingrediants. Lucius had already killed his wife, Narcissa, draining her of blood and was going to kill Draco for his bones. However, back at Hogwarts Dumbledore had realized something was amiss and went back to the Malfoy estate to retrieve Draco, saving him from certain doom. Lucius Malfoy had fled and to date, no one knew where he had went.

Draco had been hounded endlessly by the newpapers to tell his story of what had happened back at the Malfoy mansion, to explain the scar across his throat. Harriet herself was being hounded endlessly by the media to explain why the Noxcycneus family had returned to England so the two purebloods often resided within the Slytherin commonroom when not in classes. Neither of them spoke with anyone other than the teachers and a handful of Slytherin seventh years, so they often kept each other company, discussing Ministry people they hated, classes they despissed and people they wished to obliderate. Over they few months they knew each other, they grew close, often spending the early morning hours in his private bedroom (he was Head Boy after all) speaking about topics only a close relationship would permit. He was the confidant she never had a student Durmstrang and she was like the sibling he never had. If they weren’t known by everyone in the wizarding world, they might have been confused for twins. There were subjects they kept off limits however: the reason the Noxcycneus family went into hiding seventeen years previous and Lucius Malfoy. Aside from that, the two discussed everything.

When they finally parted at the end of the school year, they vowed to write to each other and over the summer did daily, though they never revealed where they were residing due to safety precautions. Harriet’s summer had been lonely but she had taken comfort in the the fact they were still able to contact each other. She had been looking forward to their reunion and the entire Christian Sabbith she spent wisting for the moment she was able to embrace him.

That evening she sat anxiously at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall across from Brendon, and watched the main entrence for the silvery blond hair of her best friend. Finally she saw him enter the Great Hall, obviously scanning the castle dining area for her and she ran to him, feeling a large grin on her face. She threw her arms around him and they embraced happily.

“Harriet! I’ve missed you so much!” he said, lifting her off her feet for a few seconds.

“And I’ve missed you as well, Draco! Come on, I’ve saved us both the seats closest to the doors,” she said taking his hand and leading him to the House table through the milling students returning for another year.

“Have you seen the Professor tonight?” Draco asked as they reached a mass of third year Hufflepuffs that wouldn’t move out of their way.

“Yes, why?” she asked and he removed a leather bound book out of his pocket.

“I have book I need to return to him,” he said and she nodded her head.

Suddenly there was a rush of cold air behind them and a soft velvety voice spoke.

“I trust you enjoyed the book I sent to you, Mr. Malfoy.”

The two purebloods swung around and Draco said, “Professor! I didn’t see you. Yes, thank you; I did enjoy the book. I never knew there were so many different types of dark creatures in Great Britain.”

Professor Snape nodded his head and plucked the book out of Draco’s hand. With an impressive movement of his fingers, the book dissolved into mist and while Draco and Harriet stood in awe, he continued speaking. “If you studied as I suggested, you’ll have a head start on your Defense Against the Dark Arts class this year.”

Draco beamed and said,“Thank you Professor.”

The Potion master’s alert eyes turned to her and his rich voice penetrated her along with his gaze. “And I trust your hand doesn’t hurt any more, Miss Noxcycneus?” he asked.

“No,” she said, shaking her head.

“If I may inspect it?” he inquired, holding out his own hand to accept hers.

She hesitated, then relinquished her fingers to his hold. She wasn't sure if she would be able to stay in control of her feelings towards him. He took her hand and looked it over quickly and unceremoniously, using his fingers to trace the still scarred skin of her palm.

“It appears to be healing healthily,” he finally said in a flat tone.

“Aye,” she agreed.

The Professor stood up, drawing his shoulders back and crossing his arms once more, and said, “I trust I shall see you both in the common room after the banquet?”

“Yes, sir,” they both said in unison.

Professor Snape nodded his head and turned around, walking away with his black robes floating at his heels.

“Let me see your hand, Harriet,” Draco asked, peering at her.

“At the table,” she said and when they finally sat down, she gave Draco her hand.

“What happened to your hand?” he asked, staring at the pink defined lines on her palm.

“Professor Snape made me his apprentice. I had to be bonded to him,” she said matter-of-factly, keeping the gloating tone out of her voice.

He traced the scars and asked, “What do these symbols mean?”

She pointed to the marks and said, “This one is my alchemic symbol and this one it his.”

Draco’s eyes dulled and he said haughtily, “I know nothing of alchemy, so I have no idea what any of it means.”

She could see she had lost any interest he had, so she decided to turn the attention back to her friend.

“So did you do anything interesting over the holiday?” she asked curiously.

“I cleaned out the mansion and I sold everything I didn’t want,” he replied flatly.

She could see she had hit a tender subject. “Oh.”

An odd look came across Draco’s face as he flicked a long strand of hair out of his eyes. “I came across something I think you’ll find interesting- a photo album.”

Harriet was shocked. “Of your family?”

“Aye. I didn’t even realize it existed,” he said and nodded his head.

“You’ll have to show me,” she said, feeling intrigued.

“Aye.”

Severus sat down at the teacher’s table. He scanned the Great Hall, looking at the students that had arrived, none of them first years. He glared at the Hufflepuffs and the students of that house that saw his look trembled in fear. His eyes jumped to Gryffindor and his scowl deepened as he viewed Harry Potter and his two accomplices. Actually, he hated everyone in Gryffindor to some extent. He felt pleased as Longbottom’s eyes meet his and Severus read absolute terror in them. The next house table he looked at was Ravenclaw. The students there didn’t bother him too much; they were the smartest House after all and they stayed quiet in his class, completing exceptional work.

And then there was Slytherin. His mind didn’t register any student aside from Harriet. After a few minutes of watching at her, the doors to the Great Hall opened and he looked to see nervous first years entering. Out of the group of about one hundred eleven year olds, fifteen were Slytherin. A small lot, but he never liked large groups to begin with. As the new students sat down at their designated house’s table, Dumbledore gave his usual welcoming speech. He let his mind wander while looking at giggling Hufflepuffs, however his ears perked at the sound of the Headmaster’s voice saying,

“And we'd also like to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Randolf Killington!"

The man next to him stood up and Severus watched him out of the corner of his eye, making no effort to hide the contempt in his expression. It was Randolf Killington, or as the students called him, “Professor K.” He had been a Beaubaxton’s student, but he was English born. Age thirty-three, he was as tall as Severus and he beamed at the students, showing incredible gleaming white teeth. As he turned his gaze to every student, he tossed his hair out of his face, cinnamon coloured with blond streaks. He had a chiseled face and his body was sculpted after years of living with giants in Norway and acting as their translator.

Severus loathed Professor Killington for three reasons, One, the man landed the job of DADA teacher and once again he, Severus, had been denied the position. Second, Killington did absolutely nothing and yet he was able to get the students' respect, a feat Severus had yet to accomplish. And third, though it seemed rather trivial, Severus was irked by the Professor's good looks. He had seen the female Prefects swooning at his every word, but happily Harriet seemed rather unaffected by the man. Which naturally made him worry that Hooch’s advances were getting to her.

The students’ clapping began to slow and as attention was turned entirely to food, Killington sat down, face glowing from the attention.

"Sparky bunch, aren't they Severus?" he said animatedly.

"Aye," Severus replied, his voice holding none of the excitement his fellow peer had.

Obviously the DADA professor wasn’t discouraged from talking with him and he continued, his voice ringing in his ears, "So tell me, perhaps you'd like to have a go at helping me instruct some of the seventh years in defense against some beasties that live in the Forbidden Forest? We could make it a night trip! Wouldn't that be fun? Just the two of us with a handful of students?"

Severus turned to the man and raised his right eyebrow in disdain. Was this man seriously considering such a stupid plan?

"Do you think that any student in here has the nerve to step inside the forest during nightfall?” he sneered.

Once again, Severus’ point was lost and Killington looked at him thoughtfully, saying, "Hmmm. Good point. We'll have to exclude Hufflepuffs from the trip."

Severus turned away from the dashing professor and as Dumbledore gave permission for the feast to begin, he looked across the room and found Harriet. She seemed busy talking with Draco Malfoy and delicately eating a blood sausage.

‘Revolting,’ he thought.

He looked at his plate and spoke.

"Roasted quail with asparagus."

On his plate appeared the food he requested and without further ado, he began to solemnly eat his food. Already he didn’t want to be in Hogwarts and the bloody classes hadn’t even started yet. As he chewed his food further, he felt slightly thankful that Harriet would be there to greet him every morning an hour before they went to breakfast.

Taking a dainty bite of the end of an asparagus stalk, he heard Killington address him again and with internal exhaustion, he turned to face the professor.

“Yes?” Severus asked, his voice strained. All he wanted was a quiet supper and even that simple desire couldn’t be fulfilled.

“I heard the funniest thing this summer...” the man started pleasantly.

**********************************

Dinner finally ended and Harriet left the Great Hall with Draco. Running down the corridors to the dungeons, they talked excitedly with each other about midnight kitchen raids and forbidden objects being snuck onto the school grounds. Harriet had a true friendship with Draco, and though they had only known each other for only a few months, she had to admit that he was the only person she could confide in. Of course she would never admit to him her feelings for Snape, but she still told him many of her secrets and in return, he did the same.

The reached the common room and sat down on the large, spacious couches across from each other. Virsidium appeared from the darker corners of the room and rested his head in Draco’s lap while the two seventh years chatted happily about Quidditch teams. Over time, other students began filling in and Harriet left the common room to retrieve the first years and lead them into the depths of the dungeons to their House. After moving all the students comfortably into the common room, she monitored the conversations and new members to the House shrewdly, mentally noting who would be worth something to her in the future and who would simply stand in her way.

“People,” Virsidium hissed as he left Draco and slithered over to her.

“People,” she agreed and lifted him into her arms the way a child might hold a cat.

Two little first years stared at her in shock and wonder that she spoke the language of the snakes. She simply raised an eyebrow at their expressions, proceeding to move across the room to reprimand a few third years who had obviously managed or sneak mud rum onto the premises.

After she dealt with them, she shrank Virsidium to the size of a small field snake, and she draped him around her neck. She looked at her pocket watch anxiously, praying silently for midnight to arrive so she would be able to see the Professor again.

*****************************************

At midnight, Severus came into the Slytherin house to welcome every student and hand out schedules.

“Slytherins who are newly arrived, I am Professor Snape, the Head of your House and your Potions Professor as well,” he said as he handed the class schedules out, starting with the first years.

Already he could see some of the new students were some what disappointed that their administration representative wasn’t the attractive man that Killington was and he felt nothing more than disgust towards them.

Severus told them as well of the honours of being a Slytherin and after more talk of not sneaking illegal items onto the premises, sent them off to bed with their schedules. The older students stayed out in the common room as he left and though he wanted more than anything to lure Harriet Noxcycneus back to the depths of the castle, he left without any other words to his classroom.

Harriet watched as the professor left with a sinking feeling. He hadn’t said anything special to her, no impressed words on how she was handling the students. Distraught, she looked down at the schedule in her hands.

Monday:

Ancient Runes: Advanced Class 4

Hexes and Charms with Hufflepuff)

History of Magic

Advanced Herbology with Ravenclaw

Tuesday:

Assistant Potions with Gryffindor

DADA

Advanced Herbology with Ravenclaw

Care of Magical Creatures only Slytherin

Wednesday:

Advanced Transfigurations with Gryffindor

Advanced Potions with Ravenclaw

Hexes and Charms with Gryffindor

Medicinal Potions

Thursday:

Assistant Potions

Astronomy with Gryffindor (Evenings at Ten O'Clock)

DADA

Care of Magical Creatures

Medicinal Potions

Friday:

Advanced Transfigurations with Gryffindor

Advanced Potions with Ravenclaw

DADA

Divination with Gryffindor

She looked up when she heard a relieved sigh from Draco, who stood to her right. “We only have three classes with Gryffindor this year. Thank the gods. I swear I would have gone insane if I had had another Potions class with Gryffindor. I get so sick of being around Potter and that Mudblood Granger.”

She made no comment. Harry Potter had been in the hospital ward since his battle with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, so she never saw or met him in person. And the Granger girl had been pleasent to talk to during the meals with the prefects; it was a shame she was Mudblood. Pansy Parkins walked over to her and peeked at her schedule. Pansy was the leader of the seventh year girls and Harriet had learned to tolerate her. She and Draco were still dating, for reasons that completely bewildered Harriet in the first place; the girl wasn’t even Pureblood, for Merlin’s sake!

“Assistant Potions? What in Merlin’s name is that, Harriet?” Pansy asked, a confused look on her pretty face as she looked at Harriet’s schedule.

“I’m the Professor’s assistant,” Harriet replied matter-of-factly.
The fellow seventh year made noises of awe and asked, “Really? Is it hard?”

Harriet frowned. Damn, the girl was stupid sometimes. “I haven’t been in it yet; I don’t know,” she replied.

.
Sometimes Pansy could be such an idiot. Obviously, Pansy had wanted more impressive words and when she received none, she turned to Draco.

“Draco, love,” Pansy simpered, cuddling up to the pureblood, “do you think we could be Hexes and Charms partners this year? I don’t want to be stuck with someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing.”

"Sure," Draco said absentmindedly.

“Thank you, Draco!” Pansy cooed and left to join her fellow girlfriends.

“I don’t know why you court that girl. She’s no better then a Mudblood, Draco,” Harriet commented to Draco in a low tone.

Draco continued looking at the schedule and said, “She’s not so bad.”

“I roomed with her. It’s not exactly a bowl of chocolate frogs.”

Draco looked up at her, eyebrow raised in surprise and said silkily, “I don’t understand how the two of you remain friends when you talk about each other like this."

Harriet folded her schedule into an elegant origami swan as she she said softly, "Because we both use each other and if we aren't on a basic friendly relationship, then neither of us are of any use to the other."

She slipped the swan into her robe’s pocket and looked up to see Draco’s eyes focused on her.

"Are all your friendships based on how they will serve you?"

"No,” she said quickly and then with a bit of after thought, added, “All right, not ours. I am friends with you strictly because you are good company and I trust you.”

Harriet gave him a reassuring smile and he smiled in return, reaching over and squeezing her arm gently.

“I trust you too, Harriet,” Draco said.

“I must go to bed, Draco. Good night.”

“Good night, Harriet.”

***********************************

He sat in the depths of his classroom, in the desk on the dais over looking the classroom, where snot-nosed idiots would be seated before him, passing notes and insulting him when they thought he wasn’t looking.

’Oh I know when you make faces at me, Lavender Brown. And your notes shan't remain hidden from my sight for long, Miss Patil,’ he thought, eager to prove to his new assistant that he was a powerful as she imagined.

In a few hours the dolts would be sitting before him and he wanted a good night’s sleep. He looked at the small flat disk on his desk, looking at the polished surface that he had buffered hundreds of times over the years and reached his fingers over to pick it up, but quickly drew back as though it had burnt him. ’No,’ he thought, ’I won’t betray her trust for my own interests.’ He stood up from the desk and did his best to look away from the scrying disk. it was tempting to conjure the image of his assistant and look upon her radiant face, but he knew he must be patient if he was to ask anything of her.

**********************************

Harriet awoke the next morning and was instantly brought to her senses when she realized that she would be late to help the professor in his classroom. She jumped out of her bed, and after grabbing her school uniform, sprinted to her private washroom. She took the quickest bath in her life and dressed, then ran down to the classroom, bursting through the heavy door without knocking.

She looked at the Professor who stood in the center of the room mixing something in a small table top cauldron. Harriet was blurting out an excuse just as she realized something was amiss .
“Professor, I’m sorry I’m late-what in Merlin’s name are you wearing?” she said stopping dead in her tracks.

“GET OUT!” he roared and she ran back out the door, slamming it quickly.

She leaned against the dungeon’s stone wall and caught her breath. A overwhelming sense of impending doom filled her, but she couldn’t keep a slight smile off her face. Had he been wearing a sleeping gown? Some how it suited him and she let her mind conjure up images of slipping her hands up under the grey woven cloth-

The classroom door swung open with a loud bang and Professor Snape emerged looking like a volcano about to explode. He was, however, wearing his usual outfit of black and ivory.

He stopped in front of her and she could see he was retraining himself from yelling and insulting her. “Why didn’t you knock, Miss Noxcycneus? After all that is the custom in this country when one wishes to enter a room that has a closed door.”

“If you wish to yell at me, then go ahead,” she said and she could see the anger flare up further in his eyes. He leaned his face in close to hers so that if she leaned forward a hair’s width, their noses would touch.
“I don’t need your permission, Noxcycneus!” he hissed.

Harriet regarded him cooly and gave a slight smile as she said softly, “Professor, a man like you shouldn’t look so angry. It takes away from your handsome features.”

“I have no need for you this morning. You shall start tomorrow,” he replied in a dangerously low voice.

He drew away from her and began to walk towards the Great Hall and she followed close behind.

“Professor, I’m sorry that I didn’t knock. I didn’t realize you wouldn’t be properly dressed for the day,” she said, her voice laced with a taunting tone.

Snape swung around to face her and quite suddenly, his wand was pointed between her eyes.

‘Did I really go too far this time?’ she wondered in horror as she watched his mouth open to curse her.

“Petrificus Totalus!”

Her body froze in midstride and she felt shock as he walked around her slowly, regarding her.

“Harriet, I should remind you, our school motto is Draco dormiens nunquam titallandus. Think of me as the dragon. Finite Incantatem,” he commanded and she could move once more.

He continued walking and she pointed her wand at him and whispered, “Expelliarmus.”

His wand flew out of his hand and she caught it. He turned to face her and began to advance towards her at and alarming pace and as she held out his wand to him she said, “If you’re the dragon, then give me your definition of being tickled so I won’t forget.”

He stopped a few paces ahead of her, a look of surprise and then in a swift recovery, held out his hand and his wand flew to him.

“I define tickling like this.”

She clasped her chest is horror as a searing pain burned her skin. A sadistic smile curled across her professor’s lips and he reached out to the front of her buttoned shirt and ripped it open, scattering buttons on the cold stone floor.

“There. Now go find a mirror and any time you wish, you may read my definition of being tickled,” he stated cruelly as he pointed to her chest.
She made no movement, afraid she would pass out from pain but Professor Snape urged her along.

“Run along, Miss Noxcycneus. You have a long day ahead of you and I wouldn’t want a trivial event like this to make you late.”

He left her there in the corridor and she began to shuffle stiffly, still clutching her chest in shock. How she managed to reach her bedroom, she had no idea, but she stripped off her ruined shirt and looked down at the burn marks. There was writing that looked as though it had been branded into her chest backwards. She stood in the mirror to read the seared, scrawling writing but her head was realing as though she had been attacked by a security troll. She pulled out her wand and conjured a spell that removed the pain from the burn and once she was able to think clearly she read,

Professor Severus Snape’s Definition of “Being Tickled”:

Tickle/ verb/'tik-ul

1: to have a tingling or prickling sensation

2: to excite the surface nerves to prickle tickle transitive senses

3: to touch (as a body part) lightly so as to excite the surface nerves and cause uneasiness, laughter, or spasmodic movements

4: to bother another person’s sense of being so that one becomes uncomfortable

“Deletrius,” she said and nothing happened.

She sighed and found herself a new shirt, and while doing so Virsidium entered the room, commenting,

“You smell like you are meat.”

“I was burned,” she replied, buttoning the shirt up over her corset and tucking it into her skirt.

“How?” the gargantuan serpent asked as it approached her.

“The Magic.”

Virsidium gave long malicious hiss, his hood flaring. “Who hurt you? I wish to hurt them.”

“You don’t need to hurt them. The Magic was used as punishment because I would not obey a command of respect,” she said blushing.

“Still...”

“Now I must leave to learn about the Magic. You shall stay here. If mother or father tries to contact me through the mirror, speak with them, but do not tell them I was punished.”

“Yes, Blue Eyes.”

Serpents couldn’t quite grasp the concept of magic or names. Virsidium was from an intelligent breed of snake, but still didn’t understand that magic came in many forms, or what a wand was. The large serpent didn’t recognize names, except for ones that were passed down from generations of snake talk. Draco had earned himself the name Yellow Snake Boy and Harriet was simply Blue Eyes. Harriet’s mother was Yellow Snake Mother and her father was Wise Brown. Professor Snape was Black Adder Man and Dumbledore was Old Wise. Sometimes the snake’s given names were confusing to remember, but fortunately they were simply words. And she was fond of the name Black Adder Man. It sounded so exotic.

She was late for breakfast so she missed eating that morning, but she was pleased that she wasn’t late for her first class, Ancient Runes. There were only two other students in the class, the Granger girl and a Hufflepuff boy named Evan Zimmerman, who wouldn’t look in her direction without trembling. Ancient Runes was without a doubt the best class of the day.

When she entered Hexes and Charms, she found a seat next to Draco and sliding next to him on the intricately carved bench, he leaned close to her and whispered,

“You missed breakfast; where were you?”

“I was talking with Professor Snape and then I went back to my room to get Virsidium.”

“Oh.” Draco nodded and then added, “Do you smell something burning?”

Severus was sitting at his desk while forth years of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff houses wrote a two foot essay on the uses of moon stones and powdered diamonds. Perhaps, he thought, I went to far this morning. She is accumulating a nasty set of scars from me. Though she needs to be put in her place occasionally and this morning was definitely one of those times. But he almost winced when he realized that burning her was something his father would have done and realized he had made a drastic mistake. Severus began to scribble on a piece of parchment how he could apologize to her, starting with his time honored phrase,

“My temper has made a fool of me...”

Harriet spent History of Magic class writing an extensive letter to her older brother Arsenic about her school day and when she finished that, she day dreamed about Professor Snape giving her all of his attention.

The only reason she paid acute attention in Advanced Herbology was the fact that Professor Snape had told her to; he was so unpredictable and she wouldn’t put it past him to quiz her on all she had learned.

She found herself stroking the backwards name “Severus Snape” that had been branded to her chest, feeling a sense of pride that she had been labeled with his name. As much as she hated any imperfections of human flesh, she had to admit that she wouldn’t mind his name remaining on her for a while longer...