Everything You Are

Chapter One:

She sat down and leaned back in her chair, looking, with disdain, at the Gryffindors to her right, none of which looked very happy to be there. On the left of her sat several Slytherins, smug grins dancing across their faces with mischief, alive and wild in their eyes. She absently ran her finger around the edge of her cauldron, looking at the dark walls that surrounded her. 'How long has it been since I've been in THIS classroom?' she thought, bemusedly.

She took little notice to the whispers that were beginning to buzz around her as people began to recognize who she was- not that she cared. The majority of the Gryffindors thought her a simple pop sensation in the wizarding music scene, while many of the Slytherins knew better, care of their Death Eater parents.

The door to the classroom burst open and a tall, dark haired man flew in as the door slammed, his robes billowing out behind them, as they often did. Sirena tried not to smile too much, for fear of giving herself away.

"Good afternoon class." He said, looking darkly at the Gryffindors for a split second.

"Good afternoon, Professor Snape." A few scattered voices mumbled, one standing out and causing the man to look up from his attendance sheet. He concealed a smile as he looked over to the young woman whose voice had made the sound.

He raised an eyebrow. "Merlin's beard... Ms. Lupin, is that you?" he asked, putting on an air of slight amazement and curiosity. "My... 2 years DOES change a person. How good it is to see you back at Hogwarts this year... I wonder... do you plan on staying?"

She nodded. "Yes, for the time being, I do..."

"I trust fame is treating you well?" He said, glancing over at a boy called Harry Potter, as though daring him to say something.

She, too, glanced at Harry before turning back to the Professor. "Fame isn't everything, Professor..." She tried not to laugh at the scowl that appeared on Harry's face. "And besides... I think Hogwarts will feel much more like home."

His small smile faded slightly. "As you have family here, I don't doubt it." He cleared his throat, going back to his normal, dark disposition as he turned to the rest of the class. "Now, today, to start off the new school year, we will be making a very complicated potion that you may have heard about... that is, if you were paying any attention during your past 4 years here at Hogwarts..." He glanced at a Gryffindor boy who seemed very nervous. "I have decided that since there has been sudden rise in lycanthropic beings, due to an uneducated Muggle werewolf that has been very active of late, it would be beneficial to each of you to know how to brew a Wolfsbane potion..." Several students started whispering to each other at this and Sirena shifted, slightly uncomfortable, looking down at her hands as she felt several pairs of eyes fixate themselves on her.

Snape sighed and looked at Sirena, rolling his eyes. She smiled, a bit reassured, as he addressed the class. "Settle down, all of you..." he said, dangerously quiet. The class obeyed, reluctantly. "Now, I am sure you are all aware of Professor and Sirena Lupin's ailments, and I can only imagine how worried Ms. Lupin must be, knowing the complete lack of brewing skills that are ESPECIALLY evident in this class." He shot a look at Neville Longbottom before he turned to Sirena. "I can assure you, Ms. Lupin, that neither you NOR your father will have to come anywhere near the monstrosities that I'm sure today will bring, until they have been THOROUGHLY tested." She nodded, still slightly shaken. "Now, moving on..."

Time passed quickly, and after watching several explosions, Sirena felt quite a bit better about her own potion, which had come out relatively well, and was deemed "consumable" by Professor Snape at the end of the double-length class. The bell rang and the students rushed to pack up, with the exception of Sirena, who lingered a bit, cleaning out her cauldron. Professor Snape walked over once the room had cleared out. "Not bad for a first day back, Lupin..."

She smiled slightly. "I'm glad you think so." She looked up, wiping her hands of the cauldron cleaner. "I trust I'll be seeing you at the meeting this Friday?" she absently rubbed the spot between her neck and shoulder.

The older man looked down at her, his eyes clouding over a moment before he snapped out of his reverie and replied. "Yes... I'll be there." He adjusted his robes down around his forearm self-consciously, though there was no one else around them.

She nodded, not noticing the look in his eye. "I'm glad. I was worried for a moment. We have quite a bit to discuss..."

He nodded. "I'm sure we do... did you get many new members out on the road?"

"Tons." She grinned, picking up her things. She sighed. "I'd better, uh... move on. I don't think it would look good if I was late to my own father's class..." She smiled a bit. "Dumbledore must have been pretty desperate, bringing my father back, huh?"

"Yes, well... he knows what he's talking about, I suppose..." he said, stiffly. He squinted for a moment, examining the skin exposed from the top of Sirena's robes. "You'll want to hide that better, Ms. Lupin..."

She paused, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion before her eyes widened. She put down her things hastily and quickly pulled up her robes to cover the jet-black tattoo of the Dark Mark between her left shoulder and neck. She shook her head, smiling. "It might have been easier to remain his servant at this rate..." she ran her finger gently over his left forearm, where, though hidden under his black robes, he had the same marking burned into him. "When you're at the top of the chain, it gets much harder to hide." She said softly, picking her things up again. "Friday, Severus..." she said, quietly, before she turned and left.